Art Transparent Foundation (Wrocław) and Nafasi Art Space (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), as part of the four-year EU-funded project Deconfining, organized research residencies for artists from Poland and African countries specializing in video art. The residencies aim to support relationships between creators and practitioners of art and culture in both regions.
On Sunday, June 23, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, the residency projects were presented at the Festival Club.
Lindi Dedek, an artist from the Czech Republic, uses site-specific artistic research to focus on the Mpingo tree, also known as Dalbergia or African Blackwood, used in Makonde sculpture and traditional medicine. Due to overexploitation, Dalbergia is now an endangered species. For the artist, Mpingo becomes a starting point for developing new creative methodologies that sensitively and critically consider ecological and economic postcolonial perspectives.
Naitiemu Nyanjom, a Kenyan artist, explores traces of traditions and rituals, revealing how elements such as dance, music, art, food, and symbolism transcend geographical borders. By juxtaposing scenes of Polish traditions, ceremonies, cuisine, architecture, and nature with those of African tribes—particularly the Maasai—she examines possibilities for intercultural understanding and unity while celebrating the unique expressions of both cultures.
Jan Moss, from Poland, has devoted much of his creative energy since 2018 to promoting contemporary African culture in Poland and other European countries. He regularly collaborates with the Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. As part of the Deconfining project, he will work with Tanzanian singeli artists. His practice aims to help deconstruct harmful stereotypes and show that imagined differences between cultures and economies are often exaggerated or even fictitious.
Moses “Teflon” Kizza, from Uganda, centers his project on the egalitarian nature of dance. Working with a crutch-using dancer and inspired by his brother’s story, Teflon addresses fundamental questions about dance—its right to be judged, its social and cultural role, and its function in human life.
Michalina Musielak (Poland), in her artistic-research practice, seeks alternative ways of knowledge production through interaction with local heroes, artists, and researchers. Her experimental documentary film focuses on the construction of a Day Care Center (DCC) in Dakawa, Tanzania, as an example of multilayered forms of solidarity, viewed through the lens of care and caregiving.
Kora lecznicza prezentowana przez tradycyjnego uzdrowiciela Maasai, dzięki uprzejmości Naitiemu Nyanjom
Josephine Kiaga, from Tanzania, addresses menstrual poverty in her project. Her work bridges cultural gaps, encouraging a new understanding of one another by appreciating both differences and similarities. The story she aims to tell uses metaphorical imagery to highlight social stigma toward people who menstruate.
