Pawa254 and YSO (Youth Serving Organizations Consortium) hosted the Maandamano Exhibition showcasing the struggle against bad governance in Kenya by young people. The theme of the exhibition was Documenting democracy through the creative lens and was held on Saturday 10th August at The Mall.
Young people have protested since June, first against a punitive Finance Bill 2024 and later about bad governance in Kenya. The protests saw young people all over the country come out to show their displeasure against the government and general state of the country.
The exhibition was hosted by Elsaphan Njora and Gathoni Mutua. The photo exhibition was curated by Sitawa Namwalie and Lwanga Kinuthia, and video exhibition was done by Muthoni Gitau and Djae Aroni.
There was a photography exhibition, video exhibition, performances and a panel discussion.
The exhibition began with a tribute to the patriots who lost their lives. It was delivered by Ndindi and Marion Ngayi.
The photography showcase of photographs taken during the protests featured work by Victoria Komu, MarkDenver, Lwanga Kinuthia, Dennis Wambua Ndunda, Gakenia Kiniiya, Ramadhan Said among others.
There was also short videos by different videographers such as Brian Obra, Al-Amin Mutunga, Olpah Dhabiti, Asesa John Paul, Florence Sitati and Khaisa Charlie. There was also videos from Sema Ukweli, an independent media platform.
There was performances by Ngartia, Juliani, Monaja, Man Njoro, Shazzy B, ElijahMoz, L-Ness, Sage among others.
They also screened videos from Social Media that were making commentary of the state of the country including corruption and excesses by the political class. They showcased the good work that was done by content creator Muchiri Mike to educate the public on the contents of the Finance Bill 2024 in different languages. GRWM (Get Ready With Me) videos to attend protests became a thing and a few of them were shown. There were also videos of Kenyans at the protest.
There was also a panel hosted by Adelle Onyango with Brian Obra, Al-Amin Mutunga, Justine Wanda, Monaja, and Bina Maseno featuring as panelists. They discussed the art that came out of the protests and how Kenyans were reacting to the creative content that came out.
One of the key things during the protests was the use of music. The short videos showcased at the exhibition included music from Juliani, Sauti Sol, Eric Wainaina and even the Kenyan national anthem, a source of pride to most people who attended the protests.
The event was an amazing showcase of the protest movement and the clamour for a better Kenya. Art has been at the forefront of the protests with creatives risking their lives to document the protests. We hope that this event inspires more exhibitions and the release of films (documentaries and otherwise), plays, poetry shows and books about the protests.
Images from the exhibition are below (The images are by photographer Sidney Mwangi)
