In 2010, Documentary Arts was invited by UNESCO to organize a capacity building workshop for African photographers in Nairobi, Kenya. UNESCO selected Documentary Arts for this project because of its prior work with the Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris, France, where, between 1989 and 2016, they collaborated on cassettes, CDs, stage-shows, and musical theatre productions focused on different styles of culturally rooted traditional music in the United States.
Alan Govenar discusses the project
In studies of intangible cultural heritage today the uses of photography, both historically and methodologically, pose questions that are crucial to the field and to the understanding of the process of documentation. Photography has typically been utilized as a transparent record of the reality it represents, but the role of the medium in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage has not been fully considered.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2006, aims at safeguarding intangible heritage expressions such as oral traditions, performing arts, rituals, social practices, festive events, knowledge about nature, and traditional craftsmanship. Photographs can help to ensure viability if they document “living heritage” in a manner that highlights its vitality and the evolving process through which traditional practices and expressions are enacted.
“Photographic documentation of Intangible Heritage in Kenya,” October 15-31, 2010, was organized to strengthen the capacity of professional photographers by exploring different approaches to documenting intangible cultural heritage. The goal of the workshop was to encourage the participants to see and frame the world in which they lived in new ways by focusing on cultural traditions and social practices.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2006, aims at safeguarding intangible heritage expressions such as oral traditions, performing arts, rituals, social practices, festive events, knowledge about nature, and traditional craftsmanship. Photographs can help to ensure viability if they document “living heritage” in a manner that highlights its vitality and the evolving process through which traditional practices and expressions are enacted.
“Photographic documentation of Intangible Heritage in Kenya,” October 15-31, 2010, was organized to strengthen the capacity of professional photographers by exploring different approaches to documenting intangible cultural heritage. The goal of the workshop was to encourage the participants to see and frame the world in which they lived in new ways by focusing on cultural traditions and social practices.
As project facilitator, I worked with Fumiko Ohinata, UNESCO Program Specialist for Culture in Nairobi, and together we selected James Muriuki to serve as my collaborator. With James’ assistance, we then chose ten Kenyan photographers to participate in the workshop. The first phase of the project combined in-class lectures and discussion with on-site fieldwork and photography, and provided an opportunity to utilize a training manual I had developed for this purpose. The content of the workshop addressed issues such as photographic techniques and approaches for documenting the living elements of intangible heritage in various field conditions, protocols for photographing community members (including free, prior and informed consent from photo subjects), caption writing, and considerations related to archiving photographic materials.
After a series of meetings, Muriuki and I decided that doing on-site training was best. We focused on a community on the outskirts of Nairobi on Ngong Road, on the edge of urban development. Part slum, part squatter camp, and part makeshift low-rent housing, this community was gated and self-regulated. Muriuki had worked in this area, and through his contacts, we met with two local businesses: Clay Artisan Self Help Group (pottery) and Interweave Crafts (rug weaving). The proprietors of these businesses, Ibrahhim Mbwgua Kamau (Clay Artisan Self Help Group) and George Nyajowi (Interweave Crafts) welcomed us and provided open access to document the people working for them.
After a series of meetings, Muriuki and I decided that doing on-site training was best. We focused on a community on the outskirts of Nairobi on Ngong Road, on the edge of urban development. Part slum, part squatter camp, and part makeshift low-rent housing, this community was gated and self-regulated. Muriuki had worked in this area, and through his contacts, we met with two local businesses: Clay Artisan Self Help Group (pottery) and Interweave Crafts (rug weaving). The proprietors of these businesses, Ibrahhim Mbwgua Kamau (Clay Artisan Self Help Group) and George Nyajowi (Interweave Crafts) welcomed us and provided open access to document the people working for them.
The teamwork approach introduced in the Nairobi workshop provided a highly effective template for their efforts in Kakamega and enabled the participants to maximize their capacity for documentation through photography, interviews, and on-site research.
In the end, the photographs produced by the workshop participants speak for themselves and engender a forum for further study and dialogue about the documentation of intangible cultural heritage. The aesthetic qualities of these photographs may be as important as their content not only to cultural specialists, but also to the individuals and communities who are the focus of study. Striking a balance between the photograph as art and as artifact may be necessary to ensure the viability of the living heritage that is documented.
In the end, the photographs produced by the workshop participants speak for themselves and engender a forum for further study and dialogue about the documentation of intangible cultural heritage. The aesthetic qualities of these photographs may be as important as their content not only to cultural specialists, but also to the individuals and communities who are the focus of study. Striking a balance between the photograph as art and as artifact may be necessary to ensure the viability of the living heritage that is documented.
James Muriuki discusses the project
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James Muriuki is a photographer based in Nairobi, Kenya. His work has been exhibited and collected worldwide and included in several publications. He has collaborated with artists, attended residencies and workshops in several countries as well as being a grant recipient. He has curated several exhibitions individually and collaboratively in Nairobi and abroad. |
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As the project got underway in Nairobi, a community was starting to develop among the people involved, including the ten professional photographers coming from different backgrounds. For me, a person then working with contemporary art in a gallery/museum, this was a chance to strongly introduce photography to primarily civil servants whose approach was certainly quite different from mine.
Alan led a five-day workshop with my assistance, which included a fieldwork among clay artisans that I had known for some time and weavers both along Ngong Road. After Alan’s return to the United States, I led the team of ten photographers and a cultural officer, Augustus Odubo, to the Kakamega area of Western Kenya to document the traditional foodways of the Isukha community. For the next week, we were in touch with living heritage as it was passed on from day-to-day.
Alan led a five-day workshop with my assistance, which included a fieldwork among clay artisans that I had known for some time and weavers both along Ngong Road. After Alan’s return to the United States, I led the team of ten photographers and a cultural officer, Augustus Odubo, to the Kakamega area of Western Kenya to document the traditional foodways of the Isukha community. For the next week, we were in touch with living heritage as it was passed on from day-to-day.
The Khayega community in Kakamega was very welcoming, and I was incredibly moved by their hospitality and pride in their heritage. All of us, by now our own small community, were engaged in an enriching process both as photographers and collectors of cultural information. The photographers divided into three groups, while Augustus and I intermingled among them. The four main families we documented over the course of their daily lives from dawn to nightfall had been identified with the help of the area director of culture and the local Shihuli Primary School.
Back In Nairobi, in consultation with Alan, I guided the photographers through the process of editing the more than ten thousand images we had made. We then identified the potential photos for inclusion in the exhibition mounted during the 5th session of the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nairobi. The post-field documentation workshop became the basis for my curating, with Alan’s assistance, the exhibition Documenting Living Heritage: 12 Photographers in Kenya .
Throughout this process, I kept in close contact with Alan and discussed the various phases of the project as they developed. Our collaboration, combined with the logistical support provided by Fumiko Ohinata, was invaluable to me and to our team of photographers. Through our interactions in Nairobi and Kakamega, we learned much about the enduring importance of documentation. The fact that so many people can identify with photography purposes it as a strong medium for helping to sustain living heritage.
Throughout this process, I kept in close contact with Alan and discussed the various phases of the project as they developed. Our collaboration, combined with the logistical support provided by Fumiko Ohinata, was invaluable to me and to our team of photographers. Through our interactions in Nairobi and Kakamega, we learned much about the enduring importance of documentation. The fact that so many people can identify with photography purposes it as a strong medium for helping to sustain living heritage.
Conversation between Alan Govenar and James Muriuki
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Alan Govenar: I wanted to talk to you a little bit about our Kenya project, what it meant then and what it means now. At the time that we met, what were you doing? I know you were a curator at the Modern Art Museum. But talk about a little bit more about the context of where you were coming from at that point.
James Muriuki: So this is already 14 years ago. At that time, I was quite lucky. I had had a little bit of international exposure in, not only photography, but also in the art world. I sort of understood what happens. The thing is, in those days, if you were living in Nairobi or in Kenya or other African countries, then we were just coming out of an era where people had not had much exposure to the outside world. And I'm talking about young people, especially. So, the ways of expressing oneself through photography or film or art were still very limited. But for me at that time, it's the era when digital cameras were getting a little bit more accessible and, also, the internet was becoming much more accessible to a wider demographic.
At that time, I was working at the Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art. We were trying all sorts of different things. I was a curator there. I was doing design work. But besides that, I was also very interested in expanding or growing or enriching my photographic, and, by extension, artistic practice. So I was quite lucky that UNESCO had taken note of some of the ideas I was developing. Through a series of consultations, I believe with you, I was able to be onboarded onto the project, which was really wonderful. At that time, lots of the people that ended up being part of our short-term collective had not had the kind of exposure I had had, although even within myself, I knew I still had a lot to learn. We were able then to share. I was able to share what I'd learned. We were able to also learn lots of formalities in practice through the knowledge and experience that you brought in. Within that, it gave me a lot of encouragement to know that it's actually possible to build a career or dedicate a substantial time in one's everyday practices into arts and creative expressions.
James Muriuki: So this is already 14 years ago. At that time, I was quite lucky. I had had a little bit of international exposure in, not only photography, but also in the art world. I sort of understood what happens. The thing is, in those days, if you were living in Nairobi or in Kenya or other African countries, then we were just coming out of an era where people had not had much exposure to the outside world. And I'm talking about young people, especially. So, the ways of expressing oneself through photography or film or art were still very limited. But for me at that time, it's the era when digital cameras were getting a little bit more accessible and, also, the internet was becoming much more accessible to a wider demographic.
At that time, I was working at the Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art. We were trying all sorts of different things. I was a curator there. I was doing design work. But besides that, I was also very interested in expanding or growing or enriching my photographic, and, by extension, artistic practice. So I was quite lucky that UNESCO had taken note of some of the ideas I was developing. Through a series of consultations, I believe with you, I was able to be onboarded onto the project, which was really wonderful. At that time, lots of the people that ended up being part of our short-term collective had not had the kind of exposure I had had, although even within myself, I knew I still had a lot to learn. We were able then to share. I was able to share what I'd learned. We were able to also learn lots of formalities in practice through the knowledge and experience that you brought in. Within that, it gave me a lot of encouragement to know that it's actually possible to build a career or dedicate a substantial time in one's everyday practices into arts and creative expressions.
Govenar: Looking back in time, when I showed up as a white American photographer, what did people think?
Muriuki: You brought skills that people can use for themselves to document their own communities. It's very different from you coming and only photographing those communities and leaving without necessarily immersing yourself into the cultures of those people. So as much as people will say, “Well, this is a white man coming from another culture, and he's documenting parts of a perspective.” But even the way they let you access them is quite different because you came also with people from the community itself. And also, you were sharing the skills of how to document people, how to look at people. Now those knowledge and skills are not (and of course you would not claim that they are) absolutely the only way that you can document a people. But nevertheless, in absence of those formalized skills, it's very difficult to document a people. So yes, they looked at you as somebody coming from outside, but you came with people from the same community who were also using the tools that you were using. Whether it's a camera or the way you interact with them.
Govenar: I think that that was certainly my intent. Documentary Arts is built on that principle. It's very project driven, it's collaborative. But the way in which Documentary Arts and I have approached going into cultures that I am not part of is to try to bring forth the perspectives the people living in that culture. And my concern when I took that work with UNESCO was wanting to work with someone like you who was immersed in your own culture. I remember you and I had several discussions, “How do we do this? How do we really do something that is capacity building, that is enriching to the people who are participating?”
Without you, it would never have been possible, because in a way I learned how to see Nairobi through your eyes. You were able to help me look at what I was experiencing, which, if you didn't know anything about the culture, would be completely overwhelming. And Nairobi at that time was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. What do you look at? What do you pay attention to? How do you respond? I felt safe when I was with you, and I felt safe in these communities that we went to. And I think that that's the only way to mediate cultural difference is to appreciate and understand and respect the culture of where you are. Then again, people don't necessarily want to show themselves in their everyday life presentation. People would rather be photographed when they're coming home from church than when they're working out in the field.
Muriuki: I think it's two ways, because for me to be able to show you Nairobi, there's aspects of you that I saw were open and not very rigid and not very closed. I was able to say, “It's very easy to show Alan my world here because he's receptive.” Going into communities to photograph them or to talk to people, if I don't open up myself, they would not open up to me, you know? Showing you around, I felt that you’re also quite receptive and curious and understanding that you may have ideas of how people are, but they're not that way. And you are able to absorb that and accept that.
A photographer should go into communities and show oneself and open oneself to those communities and say, “Look, I'm not here to represent you in a way that you don't want to.” It reminds me of the recent project that I did of construction workers in Nairobi. When I started doing that, a lot of them were very shy and were like, “No, I don't want to be photographed looking like this. Look at me. Could you wait for when we are leaving work, when I get off my work gear, and you can photograph me then?” But as time went by, they saw there's value in everything they do. And everybody has a uniform, whether it's police or doctors and even construction workers, that is a work uniform. In a way, they started seeing that as something they want to respect and say, “This is also part of me. It's not only when I'm dressed up, but also when I work. This is what I wear.” And they wanted images of themselves wearing their work clothes. Even if there's a bit of a hole there, or it's a bit soiled, they had pride. They took pride in that as time went by.
Govenar: What's happened to the photographers who were part of our collective? Are you still in contact with them?
Muriuki: Sadly, I'm not. Some of them were working for the government, and they get moved to different divisions of work. A few of them moved to other towns. I was in touch with Bernice Macharia two years ago. She moved from the city, and she does not work for the National Museums anymore. And I had her do some work for me of translation and transcription, which was great. She told me working with the government was quite difficult, so she had to leave that job. Paul Munene is still carrying on with photography. He documents live music in Nairobi.
Muriuki: You brought skills that people can use for themselves to document their own communities. It's very different from you coming and only photographing those communities and leaving without necessarily immersing yourself into the cultures of those people. So as much as people will say, “Well, this is a white man coming from another culture, and he's documenting parts of a perspective.” But even the way they let you access them is quite different because you came also with people from the community itself. And also, you were sharing the skills of how to document people, how to look at people. Now those knowledge and skills are not (and of course you would not claim that they are) absolutely the only way that you can document a people. But nevertheless, in absence of those formalized skills, it's very difficult to document a people. So yes, they looked at you as somebody coming from outside, but you came with people from the same community who were also using the tools that you were using. Whether it's a camera or the way you interact with them.
Govenar: I think that that was certainly my intent. Documentary Arts is built on that principle. It's very project driven, it's collaborative. But the way in which Documentary Arts and I have approached going into cultures that I am not part of is to try to bring forth the perspectives the people living in that culture. And my concern when I took that work with UNESCO was wanting to work with someone like you who was immersed in your own culture. I remember you and I had several discussions, “How do we do this? How do we really do something that is capacity building, that is enriching to the people who are participating?”
Without you, it would never have been possible, because in a way I learned how to see Nairobi through your eyes. You were able to help me look at what I was experiencing, which, if you didn't know anything about the culture, would be completely overwhelming. And Nairobi at that time was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. What do you look at? What do you pay attention to? How do you respond? I felt safe when I was with you, and I felt safe in these communities that we went to. And I think that that's the only way to mediate cultural difference is to appreciate and understand and respect the culture of where you are. Then again, people don't necessarily want to show themselves in their everyday life presentation. People would rather be photographed when they're coming home from church than when they're working out in the field.
Muriuki: I think it's two ways, because for me to be able to show you Nairobi, there's aspects of you that I saw were open and not very rigid and not very closed. I was able to say, “It's very easy to show Alan my world here because he's receptive.” Going into communities to photograph them or to talk to people, if I don't open up myself, they would not open up to me, you know? Showing you around, I felt that you’re also quite receptive and curious and understanding that you may have ideas of how people are, but they're not that way. And you are able to absorb that and accept that.
A photographer should go into communities and show oneself and open oneself to those communities and say, “Look, I'm not here to represent you in a way that you don't want to.” It reminds me of the recent project that I did of construction workers in Nairobi. When I started doing that, a lot of them were very shy and were like, “No, I don't want to be photographed looking like this. Look at me. Could you wait for when we are leaving work, when I get off my work gear, and you can photograph me then?” But as time went by, they saw there's value in everything they do. And everybody has a uniform, whether it's police or doctors and even construction workers, that is a work uniform. In a way, they started seeing that as something they want to respect and say, “This is also part of me. It's not only when I'm dressed up, but also when I work. This is what I wear.” And they wanted images of themselves wearing their work clothes. Even if there's a bit of a hole there, or it's a bit soiled, they had pride. They took pride in that as time went by.
Govenar: What's happened to the photographers who were part of our collective? Are you still in contact with them?
Muriuki: Sadly, I'm not. Some of them were working for the government, and they get moved to different divisions of work. A few of them moved to other towns. I was in touch with Bernice Macharia two years ago. She moved from the city, and she does not work for the National Museums anymore. And I had her do some work for me of translation and transcription, which was great. She told me working with the government was quite difficult, so she had to leave that job. Paul Munene is still carrying on with photography. He documents live music in Nairobi.
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