A few words about your artistic career
I am a creative entrepreneur, writer, director, advertising designer and producer. I am a Nipkow Fellow and an alumnus of Maisha Film Lab, Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Cinemart Rotterdam Lab. I have received awards from the Sundance Institute and Durban Filmmart. In 2018, I was Odyssee artist in residence at Saint Jean d'Angeley in France.How long have you been an artist?
I've been an artist since 2008.Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
This grant will enable me to pay part of my living expenses so that I can concentrate on writing a children's picture book, as well as paying an editor and the artist who will do the illustrations and the designer who will lay out the final e-book.What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
I will be publishing an illustrated children's book myself. This is the first in the "Keerabow's Misadventures" series of books, which is also the basis of a multimedia franchise that includes books, animated series, toys, T-shirts, etc.What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)?
During this residency, I produced a children's book, the first in a series of books entitled The Misadventures of Keerabow. The book was written by myself and illustrated by Peter Kasaija. It was also published by Bob Kisiki.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?
These activities are linked to the theme of "Thinking the world of tomorrow" in the sense that, in the world of tomorrow, African children should also be inspired by childhood heroes who look like them. For over a century, animated films have shaped the memories of children all over the world. Children in Europe and North America, however, have had the privilege of recognising themselves in these characters. That's why Disney princesses Jasmine, Mulan and Tiana were almost revolutionary because they were Middle Eastern, Chinese and African-American respectively. These characters simply don't exist for African children. Today's media, such as books, educational material, animations and games, lack characters for children of diverse origins. During the period of confinement, our children were exposed to Western children's media at home. Tomorrow's world includes a variety of children's media, including home-grown local African children's media. The book thus created has a strong female heroine. This is not a normal situation in African tradition, which marginalises girls and women by perpetuating prejudice and sexual discrimination. To combat this phenomenon, we need to instil in our children, from an early age, the belief that anything boys can do, girls can do.How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
The grant freed me from the pressure of survival and I was able to concentrate on my work without worrying about living expenses. I was able to create the work I'd imagined. I'm pleased with the result.The Misadventures of Keerabow
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