A few words about your artistic career
I am a Kenyan author and illustrator best known for my ink-illustrated graphic novels. My work focuses on history, technology, environmental sustainability and the future of education in Africa. I am also co-founder of Freehand Studios, an African digital arts and education company that creates content and experiences with social impact.
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How long have you been an artist?
Ten years as a professional. I wrote and illustrated my first emergency comic strip in 2010.
Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
This grant will enable my studio to produce the first 'teaser' episode of the animated comic TRUST, a story set in the fictional future African nation of Wahengaland. The first episode, entitled "Magokoro" (meaning grandmother) will frame the story and introduce the main characters. TRUST will be based on a graphic novel of the same name by myself and co-author Anne Connelly.
**What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
After the residency, we will use this trailer to present our project to potential future partners and funders, allowing us to begin realising our dream of creating this film, which has been held back by the coronavirus pandemic.
What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)? Who was involved in the creative process?
During this creative residency, the Freehand Studios team produced a short 4-minute teaser for the comic strip TRUST. TRUST was originally conceived as a graphic novel by writer and illustrator Chief Nyamweya and blockchain expert Anne Connelly. In order to capture the richness and essence of the story, its characters and setting, Freehand Studios teamed up with digital artist and wildlife cameraman Manuel Akatsa of Sonara Studios to work on an adapted short animation that highlights the importance of an African future that embraces its rich history, wildlife, community and traditional knowledge. The story also explores the importance of technology as a means of improving the way we monitor, model and understand our heritage, biodiversity and communities.
Africalia's 'Creativity if life' grant gave the team the resources and impetus to transform the first chapter of the Trust comic strip into an animated cartoon.
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?
Trust is a graphic novel set in the fictional future African nation of Wahengaland (Swahili for Land of the Ancestors). The people of Wahengaland live in a society based on trust, under the laws of the mythical ageless elephant known as Njogu, who is said to have warned of great social and environmental upheaval if the people of Wahengaland strayed from his laws.
Through this story, and in these unprecedented times, Freehand Studios aims to inspire a generation of young Africans about the importance of community, sustainability, traditional knowledge and technology, motivating them to imagine and implement alternative futures. Today, more than ever, young Africans are hungry for stories that inspire them to be part of a movement dedicated to building a better future based on mutual trust, sustainability and progress.
The survival of Africa's history and traditional knowledge is being undermined by a neo-liberal capitalist agenda that prioritises economic growth over sustainability. This story is an attempt to document some of this knowledge and inspire young Africans to reimagine their future.
How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
It was an extraordinary feeling of satisfaction to see the trust awakened. Although the team has over 10 years' experience in creating graphic novels and animation, we had never brought the two mediums together. As a graphic novelist and founder of an animation studio, I felt that this experience was not only enriching but also instructive. We're now very excited about sharing it with the world!
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Trust
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