RP-School of Visual and Performing Arts

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    African Representation in White Films from 1985-1997
    (EdinBurg, 2024) Gichuki, Atenya
    This paper analyzes the representation of African characters in white films from 1985-1997. During this period, many Hollywood films were produced that depicted African characters in various roles. However, the question arises as to whether these representations were accurate and fair or whether they perpetuated negative stereotypes of Africans. Through a qualitative content analysis of six selected films produced between 1985-1997, this paper explored the ways in which African characters were portrayed in white films. The films were selected using purposive sampling, and it used thematic analysis to get the findings. The paper used Postcolonial theory that examines how power dynamics between colonizers and colonized people influence cultural representation, including media representation. This study examined the representation of Africans in six films: "Amistad"(1997)," "A Far Off Place"(1993)," "The Power of One"(1992)," "Sarafina!"(1992)," and "Out of Africa"(1985)." and "The Power of One". The films were analyzed through a postcolonial theoretical framework to explore power dynamics and cultural representation. The findings revealed that the portrayal of Africans in these films was mostly through a lens of victimization, perpetuating stereotypes of Africans as primitive and inferior. It is based on the understanding that colonialism is not just a historical phenomenon but also has lasting effects on contemporary societies.
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    Artist's Perception and Communication of the Artist’s Intended Intrinsic Value in Upcycled Artworks
    (AJOEI, 2024) Oluwaseun, Isaac Abati; Vikiru, George; Majale, Christine
    Upcycling, an artistic practice that involves transforming waste materials into new and valuable art pieces, has gained significant attention in recent years. It not only promotes sustainability by reducing waste but also provides artists with a unique medium to express their creativity. However, understanding the artist's intended intrinsic value (AIIV) in these upcycled artworks is essential to comprehend the underlying messages and meanings embedded within them. This article aims to investigate the concept of the artist's intended intrinsic value (AIIV) in the context of upcycled artworks created from waste materials, focusing on Nigerian-selected artists. The study explores how these artists perceive and communicate the intrinsic value of the upcycled artworks, considering factors such as the quality of materials used, the artist's intended aesthetic appeal, historical narrative, durability, and the artist's intent to improve environmental sanity through upcycling. In order to achieve this, a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research approach was used employing questionnaires, in-depth interviews, direct observations, and document analysis was utilized. The findings reveal the diverse perspectives and artistic motivations that drive Nigerian artists to upcycle waste materials into meaningful pieces of art, thereby enriching the understanding of AIIV in the field of upcycled art.
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    Assessing The Sustainability Content in Kenya’s Interior Design Curricula
    (Editon Consortium Publishing, 2022) Oduho, Rose Achieng; George, Vikiru; Mireri, Caleb
    This study aims at providing local pertinent facts on the level of sustainability content integration and pedagogical methods used to deliver Interior Design courses in Kenya's training. A systematic audit of undergraduate curricula was undertaken to understand the extent to which sustainability content was included in Kenya's Design education. Document analysis was employed to gather information from four of Kenya's University curricula for Interior Design. Heads of Design curricula from sampled Universities were also interviewed to corroborate the facts gathered from the respective universities. The data collected were analysed using descriptive methods of statistics. Findings suggest that sustainability content included in the curriculum is minimal (6.3%), yet students are more likely to adopt practises that promote a healthy indoor environment when integrated. Consequently, this significantly reduces problems linked to Sick Building Syndrome. In this regard, sustainability content should be increased in Kenya's interior design curriculum to ensure future designers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable interiors that focus on Indoor Air Quality, water efficiency, green materials and technology
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    Bridging the Gap: The Role of Social Media Support Groups in Diabetes Care and Management
    (Universidad Técnica de Manabí (UTM), 2024-01) Githinji, Phrashiah; Githinji, Martin K.; Kariuki, Githinji Scolastica N.
    Background: With the growing prevalence of diabetes in Kenya and the complex challenges of managing the disease, individuals with diabetes increasingly turn to social media (SM) support groups. This study explores how these individuals engage with SM support groups and how they verify the information shared within these platforms. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted from June-August 2022. Participants (n=15) were purposively recruited from Facebook and WhatsApp social support groups exclusively for those with diabetes. Participants included adults diagnosed with diabetes and were active members of the SM support group. Data was collected virtually through in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Data was transcribed, coded, and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Five themes were constructed: 1) SM support groups provide accessible and affordable health information, 2) Participants leverage support groups as an alternative to formal professional healthcare engagement, 3) Participants leverage SM support groups to learn from peer-driven experiences and strategies to enhance diabetes self-care 4) Participants value community empathy and peer support in SM support groups 5) Participants strategies of authenticating and verifying information from SM support groups. Conclusion: The study highlights the multifaceted role of SM groups in diabetes care in Kenya, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals to collaborate with these online communities. It emphasizes the necessity for accurate information verification and points to the future integration of SM groups into formal healthcare strategies.
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    Changing Spectres: Interweaving Loops in Kenyan Theatre
    (Royallite Global, 2020) Shikuku, Emmanuel Tsikhungu
    Theatre critics have proclaimed the death of serious theatre on the stages of Kenya, arguing that all that could be seen are slapstick comedies which cannot survive beyond stage performance. Theatre and art in general is not static; it feeds on the changing needs of humans that produce and consume it. An analysis of the different facets of Theatre in Kenya since 1960 revealed that there is indeed a weaving loop which sustains the interest in theatre, although these genres mutate with changes in socio-economic and political realities of both the producers and the consumers. Noting that there are several milestones that could be used to determine the development of theatre, it is observed that this development, far from being linear, is multidirectional and multi-generic so that theatre could grow out of oral narrative as it has been the tradition as well as comedies off-shooting from day to day life engagements. This article, however, conclusively argues that the concept of intermediality is slowly catching up in the Kenyan theatre and this has blinded many critics into thinking that theatre is dying when in actual sense it is simply fusing itself with other genres/media to come up with other forms of performance.
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    Community Theatre and Development Practices in the Nyanza Region of Kenya
    (2015-09) Diang'a, Rachael; Kebaya, Charles; Mwai, Wangari
    Positing Community Theatre as an agency for development and is an effective way to encourage community dialogue, this article interrogates practices and efficacies of Community Theatre in Nyanza, Kenya. While contending that it has the potential to build developmental consciousness among community members on social issues affecting them, the study argues that Community Theatre provides an interesting way to explore cultural, socio-economic and developmental realities, thereby changing the way people think, socialize and act. Based on selected Community Theatre performances in Nyanza, this article analyses the practice and efficacy of Community Theatre as a social construction that is produced, regulated and consumed within specific cultural frameworks. Anchored in qualitative research, participant observation and post-performance discussions were used in data collection. The data responses obtained were organized into thematic analysed and interpreted strands, and thus, the findings show that Community Theatre is a crucial space in communities that can increase social issue awareness, influence beliefs and attitudes, prompt action, increase utilization of and support for services, explore popular misconceptions, and strengthen community support for recommended practices. Hence, Community Theatre is a safe space where communities can explore difference, question everyday life, and say the unsayable.
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    A Conceptual Framework for Research in Music and Music Education Within a Cultural Context
    (University of Ilinois Press, 2000) Akuno, E. A.
    Music education in Kenya has been, and continues to be conducted along Western theories which fall short of defining music as experienced within traditional African cultures (New, ¡980; Omondi, 1980; Kwami, 1989; Akuno, 1997; Kidula, 1998). Research in music, an attempt to find reality and meaning in it, involves discovering its components, how they make a cohesive and comprehensible whole, and how the produced item functions in the economy of the culture thai produces and consumes it. Since music must be understood from the participants 'point of view, a true understanding involves analysis within the context in which it is created and practised. The created music is influenced by the artist's understanding of the subject through experience and knowledge gained in that genre. Such experience, gained from casual, informal contacts or deliberate, organised instruction, is drawn upon for musical creativity as manifested in performance, response to musical stimuli as well as composition. This paper examines this process to come up with a conceptual framework for the understanding of music within a cultural context.
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    Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film
    (Royallite Global, 2017) Mugubi, John; Maina, William Mureithi
    In a report commissioned by the World Story Organization in 2008, Justine Edwards points out that storyline lies at the centre of problems that Kenyan films face in trying to “break down the wall preventing Kenyan films from being shown and celebrated beyond Kenyan borders” (2). This paper goes a step further to interrogate this observation through an analysis of three works by three representative Kenyan home grown film makers: Wandahuhu’s Njohera (Forgive Me), Simon Nduti’s Kikulacho (What Bites You) and Simiyu Barasa’s Toto Millionaire. These film makers have made films under the banner of a Kenyan film industry that has come to be informally known as Riverwood—the Kenyan film industry associated with Nairobi’s River Road Street where cheaply produced independent home videos are made in mass mainly by Kenyan film makers working with a Kenyan crew and cast. By measuring their works against narrative conventions established in classical cinema, this paper evaluates Kenyan home-grown film standards as defined by the narrative choices made by the film makers. In so doing, it is essentially guided by narratological theories developed by the constructivist school of film criticism. Constructivist film theory is founded on the tenet that it is the reader (viewer) of the film text that constructs the story and meanings in the story using the clues that the film maker puts before him or her on the screen. Other relevant theoretical positions are applied as need arises to cater for the multidisciplinary nature of film as an art. The methodology used is textual analysis and interpretation, therefore qualitative in nature.
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    Configuration of Kenya’s Children’s Television Drama
    (American Research Institute for Policy Development, 2014) Mugubi, J.
    Children’s film is an artistic genre in its own right with its distinctive character and utility in the society. Machachari is a local television drama that is centred on children. This episodic film, while revolving around slum children and their hustles and survival jaunts in the hard-edged lives of their surroundings, juxtaposes the ghetto children with their well-to-do friends. Just one year since this sitcom was first aired on a Kenyan Television station, Machachari recently won three awards: it was voted “Kenya’s Teenagers’ TV drama Soap of choice”. The TV drama also won “New Show Award” and one of the characters won the “Male Actor Award”. In the Kalasha awards held in September 2011, the equivalent of a Kenyan Oscar, one of the child characters, Baha, won the best actor award. In cognizance of the popularity of this sitcom and in appreciation of its palpable foregrounding of child characters, this study interrogates this very popular sitcom with a view to establishing whether the presentation of the child character with regard to behaviour patterns and theme conforms to true childhood as affirmed by three psychological theorists: cognitively, as prescribed by Jean Piaget; emotionally as outlined by Erik Erikson and lastly, whether the child characters’ conduct is the product of interactive influences, both congenital and experiential as delineated by Robert Sears. Discourse analysis is also employed to determine the communicative import of the utterances of the child characters while appraising their plausibility in illuminating particularities of children’s mental processes and personalities within their milieu.
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    Corollaries of Size: Encumbrances of Childhood in West-Indian Fiction
    (Royallite Global, 2018) Mugubi, John
    Perhaps the child’s physical and mental sizes contribute more to the position a child is bestowed in a society. Childhood has been viewed as an epitome of weakness and infirmity of both body and soul. This has been the more reason for not holding the child in high esteem. Children have been mistreated all over the world mostly because of their physical weakness. This study is based on the premise that a literary writer has a wide range of narrative agents to choose from. Literary artists discriminate in the choice of both subject – matter and technique. When a writer thus makes a selection, it is assumed that he opts for what is best suited to articulate his vision or ideological perspectives on a multiplicity of concerns. A writer’s preference in terms of character-types should therefore never be taken for granted but rather should be perceived as a vehicle through which the writer lays bare his/her message. Marjorie Boulton (1954) asserts: “a story or essay will achieve an effect on the reader by selection of some aspects of the subject” (p.109). Characterization in Literature is therefore a deliberate enterprise aimed at achieving certain goals.
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    Creation of Indoor Sculptures Using Metal and Glass Inspired by Selected Swahili Kanga Inscriptions
    (EANSO, 2024) Atieno, Onyiso Sachbear; Muoki, Matthews; Wango, Kamau
    The ‘Kanga’, a colourful printed cloth wrapper, is one of Kenya’s coastal region’s most well-known cultural items and has deep cultural, historic and economic significance. In their creation, the Kangas contain inscriptions on them that propagate sayings, proverbs, and pithy phrases in Kiswahili. The inscriptions are located on the lower border and are frequently surrounded and highlighted by various patterns or background colours. The Swahili inscriptions not only impart specific messages to the viewer but are also used to convey feelings, thoughts, and inspire. Despite sculptures being traditionally used as avenues for artistic expression based on many sources of inspiration, this study found no evidence to indicate that Swahili Kanga inscriptions have been used as inspirations in the creation of sculptures in Kenya. It is envisaged that it is possible to extract meaning from inscriptions and interpret the embedded meaning through a three-dimensional artistic genre such as sculpture from which viewers can draw meaning and visually subscribe to. In view of this gap, this study sought to develop the creation of indoor sculptures placed in public spaces that derived their creative inspiration from selected Swahili inscriptions printed on the Kanga. The sculptures were executed using a combination of metal and glass. The proverbs used in this study were already documented and published and the inherent meaning was therefore already transcribed. Creativity of the artist was applied to generate ‘visual meaning’ based on visual interpretation derived from and responsive, as much as possible, to the meaning contained in the proverb itself. However, the proverbs were purposively selected to best navigate and demonstrate the interpretation process from written to visual. Hence, this study applied an exploratory research design in exploring Swahili inscriptions on Kanga. The paper presents data on sculptural idea development and creation of indoor sculptures.
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    The Creative Menopause Syndrome in Nollywood Video Films: A Lingering Deficiency
    (Royallite Global, 2018) Igomu, Samuel O.; Pomak, Frank Tengya
    The Nigerian movie industry, otherwise popularly known as Nollywood, is arguably Africa’s largest film industry and ranked amongst the top three film industries in the world. With a prolific output of over a thousand productions annually leading to a humongous popularity, Nollywood is without a doubt a staple in many African households and beyond. Obviously, the industry has evolved over the years by leaps and bounds giving the top-notch quality of some productions in recent times. However, despite this evolutionary stride being made, the quality of majority of movies coming out of the industry have predominantly remained shaky and dreary. It is seemingly a case of moving in a circle of creative dearth with many Nollywood video films often failing to inspireany major shift in contents and narrative styles. This study, thus, looks at the creativity question as well as the lack of creative impetus which has continued to characterise and constitute a major downside of Nollywood video films. Anchored on the theory of creativity espoused byKozbelt, Beghetto and Runco, this study finds the dearth of creativity to be a serious lingering deficiency which has and or is eating deep into the fabrics of Nollywood, making the industry a subject of protracted scathing criticism and an object of universal derision. Hence, by way of conclusion and recommendation, it is imperative Nollywood filmmakers improve upon their artistry in filmmaking and not sacrifice creativity –what is significantly required to make a movie of good quality –on the altar of rushed production for quick cash
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    Creativity and Aesthetics: A Case of Women's Beaded Ornaments in the Kenyan Coast
    (2013) Orchardson-Mazrui, E.
    Available literature on traditional African Art virtually ignores women's creative and aesthetic sensibilities in artistic production. When women's traditional African art is mentioned, focus is made within the crafts, giving an impression that crafts are less significant than art forms such as sculpture; which are produced by men. This situation obscures the significance of African women's art in society. Hence, through an in depth analysis of selected women's beadwork from the Kenyan coast, this paper examines creativity, aesthetics, and symbolism in these works of art. The paper is of the opinion that women's beadwork can be placed within the realm of poetic idiophones as found in poetry where the repetition of words, sounds, and rhythm heighten a poem's aesthetic effects and invoke various images in the reader. It is our contention that women's beadwork is a valuable contribution to the stylistic and aesthetic continuum peculiar to the East African coastal strip. Further, using the headwork under discussion, the paper shows the interrelationship between Mathematics and Art and Design demonstrating that coastal women created aesthetically pleasing beadwork using elements and principles of art, and certain mathematical formulas. The paper employs functionalism and formalism theories to interrogate its concerns. The functionalist approach recognizes that the aesthetics in artefacts seek to satisfy psychological, social, economic and cultural needs of the society. Even though the functionalist theory has come under sharp criticism and waned in interest, it is useful when applied to beadwork under discussion. However, since aesthetics is often culture-bound, we need to appreciate functionality within the context of the society or community under discussion. Additionally, the paper utilizes the formalistic theory, which looks at the application of elements and principles of art to achieve a unified formal quality in an art object.
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    Creativity and Interdisciplinary Linkages: the Visual and Performing Arts and Other Disciplines
    (2013) Digolo, B.A.
    Creativity has been linked to various contexts and meanings in the cultural, political, economic, religious, and educational milieu. Though most of the early writers attributed the concept of creativity to the arts such as literature, contemporary views of the term creativity literally cuts across all disciplines. A variety of definitions that have been given to the term may be summarized as "the ability to generate innovative ideas and to manifest such ideas from thought into a concrete reality.” The foregoing definition indicates the importance of creativity as an essential aspect of innovation and invention and hence, underscores the importance of creativity, not only in the arts like literature but also in many other professions such as teaching, engineering, medicine, agriculture, law, architecture, sports and games, economics, technology, political science among others areas. This forms the basis of this paper as we seek to elucidate on the interdisciplinary links between the visual and performing arts with other disciplines.
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    Crises Experienced in Church Organizations: The Case of Parklands Baptist Church Nairobi Kenya
    (IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 2017-03) kuria, Martin
    This study evaluated crisis preparedness in churches and focused mainly on crisis communication in Parklands Baptist Church (PBC) in Nairobi, Kenya. The study’s main objective was to find out the types of crises that have affected the church in the past 5 years. The study employed a descriptive research design. The study established that the church experiences crisis but mostly from a rare to often basis. A sizeable number of PBC congregants indicated to have observed different crises in the church. It was inferred that the church rarely communicates to inform about crises to its congregants and this would explain why most congregants in Churches held the belief that the church is rarely engulfed in crises
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    Delineation of National Healing and Conflict Resolution in Film: A Case Study of Kenya
    (American Research Institute for Policy Development, 2014) Mugubi, J.
    Wale Watu is a film by Cajetan Boy. This feature film was inspired by the post election chaos that followed the disputed 2007 elections in Kenya. The plot of Wale Watu orbits around two youths, Paul and Mercy. Coming from different, indeed, historically antagonistic ethnic communities (Mercy is a Kikuyu and Paul is a Luo), the two are in love and plan to get married. Whereas their parents have no qualms about the relationship and indeed live in harmony, the outcome of the elections marks a turning point. Chaos ensues, the two communities turn against each other. Paul’s father’s hospital is set on fire by furious Kikuyu youths, precipitating the demise of Paul’s paternal uncle, Mark, who is burnt to death inside the hospital set ablaze. Paul’s sister Safari escapes death narrowly but with severe injuries. Among the Kikuyu youths gone amok is Mercy’s brother, Robert. And when the truism that Paul’s Fiancée’s brother was one of the youths who participated in killing Paul’s uncle comes to the fore, Paul’s and Mercy’s wedding plans are thrown into disarray. Tension is palpable everywhere
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    ‘Derivation of Subject Matter/Content from Themes among University Fine Art Students - Analysis of Selected Paintings by Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2023) Wango, Kamau
    In certain painting unit requirements, students are expected to interpret themes and generate appropriate subject matter that ultimately expresses or depicts how they artistically interpret given themes and generate painted pictorial compositions that showcase the same. Themes are specific compartments or clusters of the description of life in its natural existence or manifestations. Themes may feature the environment, nature, manifestations, occurrences, perceptions, and philosophies that are segmented in a way that is orderly and comprehensible to human beings. Hence themes are as broad-based as the entire body of manifestations that underscore human existence, endeavours, and behaviours. Without this demarcation and description of themes, it would be difficult to understand the myriad of ways in which human beings respond to their existence. Since themes are broad and exciting from an artistic context, they are, in essence, infinite and have to be broken down into fathomable subject matter that the artist can accommodate, justify, and explain; and the audience can, subsequently, appreciate and rationalize. Fine art students are, in this regard, introduced to the importance of themes as consolidated lenses through which the world is viewed, but more importantly, the need to develop the skill of deconstructing themes into tangible subject matter or digestible content. The ability to break down themes into specific content is of importance to student artists as they learn to construct their ideas. These ideas, whether or not they bear a certain element of spontaneity, are based on some form of focused response to a given inspiration. The issue of spontaneity and precision of thematic interpretation can often be confusing to students and artists alike but while they all must be aware of the need for a thematic approach to their work, they must be at the same time mindful of the need for expressive freedom and space. This paper seeks to determine the extent to which subject matter is used by students as a strategy for expressing themselves and, further, the extent to which the content they develop within this subject matter is successfully derived from themes as a source of inspiration. The paintings featured in this paper were developed during the course of the semester at Kenyatta University and were in specific response to the derivation of subject matter from themes. The students were, however, free to interpret themes in the way they found appropriate and were not bound to depict certain contents or contexts in their work. In keeping with the general belief that paintings are themselves not necessarily based on the dogmatism or rigidity of themes in their expressiveness, and in being careful not to stifle the ability of students to express their ideas, the students were encouraged to display a level of spontaneity in their work which is a hallmark of the beauty of the painting. This paper pre-supposes, therefore, that an effective approach to the development of good paintings is found in their spontaneity just as much as it is found in the interpretation or breakdown of themes.