‘Popular Expression in the “Silicon Savanna”: Perspectives on the Digitization of Art and Life in Kenya’

 

Organized by Dr. Mbugua wa Mungai (Kenyatta University) and Dr. Andrew J. Eisenberg (University of Oxford), with support from the Goethe Institut-Nairobi and the European Research Council’s ‘Music, Digitization, Mediation’ Research Programme based at the University of Oxford, UK.
 
While it remains to be seen whether the digital revolution will bring Kenya’s ‘Vision 2030′ to fruition, digital technologies are clearly transforming the landscape of Kenyan popular culture. In Kenya today, popular music is being produced on computers and consumed on mobile phones; fiction is being published, read, and commented upon in blogs; poetry is being podcast; religious and political slogans are circulating on Twitter. This workshop brings together Kenyan and non-Kenyan scholars, intellectuals, and cultural practitioners for lively presentations and discussions on the ways in which digital technologies are transforming the production, consumption, reception, monetization, and politicization of popular expression in Kenya––all with a view toward developing a better understanding of Kenyan society in the digital age.

Participants:

Chris Adwar (music producer and bandleader for The Villager’s Band)

Andrew J. Eisenberg, PhD (Faculty of Music, Oxford U)

June Gachui, LLM (General Manager, Kenya Assoc of Music Producers)

Murimi Gaita, PhD (Dept of Literature, Kenyatta U)

Felix Kiruthu, PhD (Dept of History, Kenyatta U)

Justus K. S. Makokha, PhD (Dept of Literature, Kenyatta U)

Mbugua wa Mungai, PhD (Dept of Literature, Kenyatta U)

Susan Mwangi, PhD (Dept of History, Kenyatta U)

Aggrey Nganyi, PhD (Dept of Music and Dance, Kenyatta U)

Kimani Njogu, PhD (Director, Twaweza Communications)

Bill Odidi (Chief Radio Producer, Kenya Broadcasting Corp)

Nanjira Sambuli (musician and blogger)

Programme:

10am

Introductory Remarks, Dr. Andrew J. Eisenberg

10:20am – 11:20am

Panel 1

‘Media Imperialism: Telenovelas, Cyberspace and the (Re)Construction of the Kenyan Youth’, Dr. Susan Mwangi

‘Speaking from the Informal Spaces: Political Hip Hop Music of Youth in the Slums of Nairobi’, Dr. Aggrey Nganyi

‘From Page 6 to Pullouts: Performing the Vaudevillian in Kenyan Newspapers’, Dr. Murimi Gaita

11:20am – 12:20pm

Panel 2

‘The Kenyan Music Industry in the Digital Age: Preliminary Notes and Findings from Ongoing Research in Nairobi’, Dr. Andrew J. Eisenberg

‘Think Global, Act Local: The Case of Music in the DIY and Digital Era’, Nanjira Sambuli

‘For Better or For Worse, a Marriage of Three: A Brief Overview of Intellectual Property, Digitization and the Musician’s Craft/Art’, June Gachui

[Break]

1:30pm – 2:30pm

Panel 3

‘Masculinities and Popular Culture in Central Kenya’, Dr. Felix Kiruthu

‘Social Media, The Youth And Creative Energy In Contemporary Africa: The Example Of Facebook Poetry Of Mbizo Chirasha And Wanjohi Wa Makokha’, Dr. Justus K. S. Makokha

‘Provisional Notes on SMS as Popular Culture in Kenya’, Dr. Mbugua wa Mungai

2:30pm – 3:30pm

Panel 4

‘The Producer is Dead: Co-Creating and User-Driven Content Generation’, Dr. Kimani Njogu

‘From Analogue to Digital: The Impact of the Changing Formats on Traditional Radio and TV Journalism’, Bill Odidi

 ‘On Creating New Genres of Music by Experimentation and Fusion’, Chris Adwar