UK Government to make Mau Mau apology »
The UK government is to apologise and pay compensation to those tortured during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in the 1950s, the BBC understands.
Foreign Secretary William Hague is expected to announce compensation in the region of £14m ($20m).
More than 5,000 Kenyans say they were mistreated - some through torture - by the then-British administration.
The British fought a bitter battle with Mau Mau insurgents who were demanding land and an end to colonial rule.
Victims have been fighting for compensation from the UK government for a number of years.
The BBC understands Mr Hague will express “sincere regret” to the victims while announcing the compensation package in the Commons.
The government had initially argued that all liabilities for the torture by colonial authorities had been transferred to the Kenyan Republic upon independence in 1963 and that it could not be held liable now.
But in 2011, the High Court ruled that three claimants - Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambuga Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara - did have “arguable cases in law”.
Executed and maimed
Their lawyers allege Mr Nzili was castrated, Mr Nyingi was severely beaten and Mrs Mara was subjected to appalling sexual abuse in detention camps during the rebellion.
After the ruling, the case went back to the High Court to consider a claim by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that the actions had been brought outside the legal time limit.
The FCO said it had faced “irredeemable difficulties” in relation to the availability of witnesses and documents.
But in October last year, the court ruled the victims had established a proper case and allowed their claims to proceed to trial despite the time elapsed.
At the time, the lawyer for the three claimants said they would be pressing for a trial “as quickly as possible” but they would also be pushing for the government to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The Mau Mau, a guerrilla group, began a violent campaign against white settlers in 1952. The uprising was eventually put down by the British colonial government.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission says 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed, and 160,000 people were detained in appalling conditions.
Haciendo juguetes con calzado sin uso
This company from Kenya makes toys from slippers that wash up on the beach. Pictures by Ben Curtis
Nairobi Film With Gay Kissing Scene Headed To The Oscars
i want to see this film. what do folks think of it?
Created on Tuesday, 25 September 2012 10:32 Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 October 2012 10:39Written by Brenda Sausage
NAIROBI Half Life, a movie that featured two men kissing has been nominated by the Kenya Oscars Selection Committee to compete for the 85th Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Science (AMPAS – better known as The Oscars) in the “Best Foreign Language Film”Category.
The film, a Ginger Ink Films production, features local cast and crew, providing an opportunity for Kenyans to benchmark with the best in the world cinema arena.
Nairobi Half Life features two men kissing in what producer, Tosh Gitonga said was meant to be provocative and initiate discussion on the issue.
Wambui Kairo, the chairperson of The Kenya Oscars Selection Committee was full of praise for the film, terming it as a master piece and saying that it stands a chance for nomination and the global award.
“We as a committee are privileged to have been involved in the process of reviewing Nairobi Half Life and to have found it as a suitable Kenyan submission. It is clear from this film that the Kenya film industry has the capacity to make movies that can compete on a global platform.”
The film’s success at the cinema halls has influenced public demand to have the film extend its screening to December and has received outstanding reviews from local newspapers and blogs.
Indeed, the film has sparked a lot of interest from Kenyans both locally and those in the Diaspora who are eager to watch it.
‘It’s about time people addressed the issue of gays in our society. We did it, but not in the negative angle for once,’ said producer Gitonga. (READ: Gay, Lesbian Characters Come Alive In Kenyan TV, Movies, Books)
According to Guy Wilson who was part of the production, the script of the film included a gay kissing scene as gay people are part of Kenya’s society and they wanted to explore that.
‘This is a Kenyan film made by Kenyans and using sheng and vernacular language; including a kissing scene between two men shows that same sex is becoming a mainstream concept and they have done it proud,’ said an Arts Manager at Phoenix Theaters.
To date, the only other movie submitted from Kenya for the same category was Heart of Fire; a Kenyan/German co-production film about the civil war in Eritrea submitted in 2008. The film was not nominated by the Academy for the 2009 Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the selected films on Thursday the 10th of January, 2013. Five (5) Films will be nominated from all the international submissions to go forward in the final lineup to compete for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film.
The official Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 24th February 2013 in the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
here is the trailer for wangechi mutu
The triptych: Wangechi Mutu
she is part of a three part documentary afro punk collective has done. tickets are $12.
Brooklyn Musuem
Film Screening: Afro-Punk Pictures in association with Weeksville Heritage Center presents The Triptych
Afro-Punk pictures presents The Triptych (Dir. Terrance Nance, Codir. Barron Claiborne, Dir. of Photography Shawn Peters), in association withWeeksville Heritage Center. This short-film series highlights the work of artists Sanford Biggers, Wangechi Mutu, and Barron Claiborne. Live music and a Q&A with the artists will follow the screening. This event is supported by Heineken.
As space is limited, advance purchase of nonrefundable tickets for general admission and a reserved seat at the screening is recommended via www.museumtix.com. Members receive free admission; please call the Membership Hotline at (718) 501-6326 for reservations.
Wanchegi Mutu,
“A’gave you”, 2008::
Wangechi Mutu observes: “Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body.” Piecing together magazine imagery with painted surfaces and found materials, Mutu’s collages explore the split nature of cultural identity, referencing colonial history, fashion and contemporary African politics. In Adult Female Sexual Organs, Mutu uses a Victorian medical diagram as a base: an archetype of biased anthropology and sexual repression. The head is a caricatured mask – made of packing tape, its material makes reference to bandages, migration, and cheap ‘quick-fix’ solutions. Mutu portrays the inner and outer ideals of self with physical attributes clipped from lifestyle magazines: the woman’s face being a racial distortion, her mind occupied by a prototypical white model. Drawing from the aesthetics of traditional African crafts, Mutu engages in her own form of story telling; her works document the contemporary myth-making of endangered cultural heritage.Quote from: Merrily Kerr, Wangechi Mutu’s Extreme Makeovers, Art On Paper, Vol.8, No. 6, July/August 2004. posted on:
The Bourgeois Is Banging On My Head by Wangechi Mutu
Mixed media on mylar
Wangechi Mutu, “The Ark Collection,” 2006.
I love this woman’s work more than I can say.
FEELING ARTSY- Wangechi Mutu
Art is an interpretation of life seen through the eyes of the artist. While looking at the exhibits online at the Studio Museum of Harlem before I plan a trip there, I stumbled on the work of Wangechi Mutu. Her paintings lured me in. I must see this collection in person. Wangechi was born in Nairobi, Kenya. She now works and lives in Brooklyn (the greatest borough). Go check out her work.
-The painting featured is called “Magnificent Monkey Ass Lies”. How could you not love an artist that names a painting like that? LOL
(via ajscorner)
Wangechi Mutu’s “Yo Mama”
“Some of these figures stand for certain ideals and hopes that I feel are necessary to tackle shared challenges that stand in the way of ‘our’ humanity, cultural understanding and coexistance. So for example, the figure in ‘Yo Mama’ is this fierce, fictional planet-hopping warrior who is obviously traversing different histories and lands annihilating the huge serpent (as in the biblical snake, the phallus, a symbol of Christian patriarchy) with her heel. I try to express elements of female bravado and raise questions about ethnic identification whilst creating a mythological/futuristic character that confronts the lengthy history of these shared dilemmas. The stilettos appear often in my work, especially the collages. I have contradictory reasons for using them — they’re weapons, prosthetics, embellishments, armor, and obviously, titillating power symbols. High heels are the quintessential heightening apparatus that constrains and deforms the body whilst functioning as an indicator of modernity, urbanization and ‘foreign’ ideals of beauty.”
Wangechi MutuAdult Female Sexual Organs, 2005, packing tape, fur, collage on found medical illustration paperMutu observes: “Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body.” Piecing together magazine imagery with painted surfaces and found materials, Mutu’s collages explore the split nature of cultural identity, referencing colonial history, fashion and contemporary African politics. In Adult Female Sexual Organs, Mutu uses a Victorian medical diagram as a base: an archetype of biased anthropology and sexual repression. The head is a caricatured mask – made of packing tape, its material makes reference to bandages, migration, and cheap ‘quick-fix’ solutions. Mutu portrays the inner and outer ideals of self with physical attributes clipped from lifestyle magazines: the woman’s face being a racial distortion, her mind occupied by a prototypical white model. Drawing from the aesthetics of traditional African crafts, Mutu engages in her own form of story telling; her works document the contemporary myth-making of endangered cultural heritage.
