Alice Muthoni Gichuru

Kenya - Writing

The artist

A few words about your artistic career

I'm an author from Kenya who writes under the name Muthoni Wa Gichuru. I have written ten books and several short stories. I am a Burt Award Winner for African Writing and have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2015 and the Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize - Life writing category, 2019.

How long have you been an artist?

It's been seventeen years as a creative writer. My first manuscript was shortlisted for the Macmillan Writers Prize in 2003 and published in 2010.

Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?

The grant will allow me to write and create for a while without having to worry about finances, especially now that I've lost the royalties I get from my books. I'll also be able to give a stipend to someone with production experience to give me technical advice.

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What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?

My aim is to incorporate a variety of media into creative writing so that I can reach people who may have challenges such as those who are visually impaired.

His residence

What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)? Who was involved in the creative process?

For the first time in my life, I was able to create a multimedia short story with text, photos, a video and a pencil sketch, as well as an audio recording of the story. The grant enabled me to complete the project while staying at home and working with my family.

I did most of the writing of the story. Two paragraphs were written by my daughter and my housekeeper's daughter, Naomi, because I wanted them to tell their feelings about the Corona virus in their own words. One of my sons did the photos and video recording. My other son did a pencil sketch at the end of the multimedia short story. My wife made the audio recording of the story. He also edited the story.

How do you think these activities help us to think about the world today, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and/or about building for the future?

The activities carried out during a home residence reflect new ways of coping with a global pandemic. They reflect how people can work within limits such as those imposed by the Covidon 19 crisis. To quote a phrase from the story, "this thing, that thing, you learn to push back". This reflects the resilience of people and their ability to bounce back when pushed down by adversity. The activities also reflect how the future of work, creativity and innovation will look. The use of a variety of media reflects the fact that we are taking advantage of the technology available to us to reach people and connect even when distance separates us.

How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?

I've always enjoyed writing stories and this residency gave me the opportunity to see my story told not only in text but also in photos, video and sketches. Listening to my story as it was read took me back to my childhood, when my late mother used to tell me stories. Writing can be a solitary adventure, but now I've done it with a team, a photographer/videographer, an editor, my children who have written a bit. It's been an enriching experience for me and it's also allowed me to spend time with my family. I was able to create my work as I had imagined it. Overall, I'm satisfied with the result, but I've also gained enough knowledge to make the next project even better.

His work

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