African Digital Heritage was delighted to take part in the Usoni- State of the Art 2.0 exhibition that ran from the 30/10/2021- 7/10/2021 at The Mall (Westlands) in Nairobi, Kenya.
State of the Art is a joint initiative between the Goethe-Institut and BlackRhino VR setting out new and inspiring uses of immersive technologies in the creation, experience and sharing of digital art.
“In this second installment of State of the Art, the organizing thought for the installation is the Swahili word ‘USONI.’ ‘USONI’ has a double meaning, on one hand it is “on the face” on the other it is “the future” – the VR headset acts as a gateway into the imaginary – would be – worlds, that captures the true essence of the artist’s creativity. This exhibition constituted a catalogue of five intriguing imaginaries ranging from; summoning a lost Goddess from legend, recreating five looted artifacts of significant cultural value in Kenya, to a creation of an underwater city of Nairobi along with other coming to self stories. Looking to inspire the reimagination of cultural heritage through the interplay of new narratives, and the use of immersive technology.’’
Our Director, Chao Tayiana Maina, was a panelist alongside Saitabao Kaiyare and Jim Chuchu of Baruu Collective and The Nest Collective respectively in the session that was held on 2/11/2021. They spoke on the topic, “cultural heritage and restitution with new media.’’
