TED2017
Wanuri Kahiu: Fun, fierce and fantastical African art
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We're so used to narratives out of Africa being about war, poverty and devastation, says TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu. Where's the fun? Introducing "AfroBubbleGum" -- African art that's vibrant, lighthearted and without a political agenda. Rethink the value of all that is unserious as Kahiu explains why we need art that captures the full range of human experiences to tell the stories of Africa.
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa. Full bio
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So, my mother's a pediatrician,
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and when I was young,
she'd tell the craziest stories
she'd tell the craziest stories
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that combined science
with her overactive imagination.
with her overactive imagination.
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One of the stories she told
was that if you eat a lot of salt,
was that if you eat a lot of salt,
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all of the blood rushes up your legs,
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through your body,
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and shoots out the top of your head,
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killing you instantly.
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(Laughter)
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She called it "high blood pressure."
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(Laughter)
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This was my first experience
with science fiction,
with science fiction,
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and I loved it.
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So when I started to write
my own science fiction and fantasy,
my own science fiction and fantasy,
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I was surprised that it
was considered un-African.
was considered un-African.
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So naturally, I asked, what is African?
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And this is what I know so far:
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Africa is important.
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Africa is the future.
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It is, though.
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And Africa is a serious place
where only serious things happen.
where only serious things happen.
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So when I present my work somewhere,
someone will always ask,
someone will always ask,
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"What's so important about it?
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How does it deal with real African issues
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like war, poverty, devastation or AIDS?"
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And it doesn't.
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My work is about Nairobi pop bands
that want to go to space
that want to go to space
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or about seven-foot-tall robots
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that fall in love.
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It's nothing incredibly important.
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It's just fun, fierce and frivolous,
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as frivolous as bubble gum --
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"AfroBubbleGum."
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So I'm not saying that
agenda art isn't important;
agenda art isn't important;
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I'm the chairperson of a charity
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that deals with films and theaters
that write about HIV and radicalization
that write about HIV and radicalization
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and female genital mutilation.
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It's vital and important art,
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but it cannot be the only art
that comes out of the continent.
that comes out of the continent.
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We have to tell more stories
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that are vibrant.
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The danger of the single story
is still being realized.
is still being realized.
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And maybe it's because of the funding.
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A lot of art is still dependent
on developmental aid.
on developmental aid.
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So art becomes a tool for agenda.
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Or maybe it's because we've only seen
one image of ourselves for so long
one image of ourselves for so long
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that that's all we know how to create.
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Whatever the reason, we need a new way,
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and AfroBubbleGum is one approach.
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It's the advocacy of art for art's sake.
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It's the advocacy of art
that is not policy-driven
that is not policy-driven
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or agenda-driven
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or based on education,
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just for the sake of imagination:
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AfroBubbleGum art.
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And we can't all be AfroBubbleGumists.
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We have to judge our work
for its potential poverty porn pitfalls.
for its potential poverty porn pitfalls.
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We have to have tests
that are similar to the Bechdel test,
that are similar to the Bechdel test,
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and ask questions like:
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Are two or more Africans
in this piece of fiction healthy?
in this piece of fiction healthy?
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Are those same Africans financially stable
and not in need of saving?
and not in need of saving?
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Are they having fun and enjoying life?
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And if we can answer yes
to two or more of these questions,
to two or more of these questions,
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then surely we're AfroBubbleGumists.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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And fun is political,
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because imagine if we have
images of Africans who were vibrant
images of Africans who were vibrant
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and loving and thriving
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and living a beautiful, vibrant life.
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What would we think of ourselves then?
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Would we think that maybe
we're worthy of more happiness?
we're worthy of more happiness?
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Would we think of our shared humanity
through our shared joy?
through our shared joy?
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I think of these things when I create.
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I think of the people and the places
that give me immeasurable joy,
that give me immeasurable joy,
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and I work to represent them.
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And that's why I write stories
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about futuristic girls that risk
everything to save plants
everything to save plants
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or to race camels
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or even just to dance,
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to honor fun,
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because my world is mostly happy.
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And I know happiness is a privilege
in this current splintered world
in this current splintered world
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where remaining hopeful
requires diligence.
requires diligence.
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But maybe, if you join me
in creating, curating and commissioning
in creating, curating and commissioning
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more AfroBubbleGum art,
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there might be hope
for a different view of the world,
for a different view of the world,
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a happy Africa view
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where children are strangely traumatized
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by their mother's dark sense of humor,
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(Laughter)
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but also they're claiming fun,
fierce and frivolous art
fierce and frivolous art
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in the name of all things
unseriously African.
unseriously African.
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Because we're AfroBubbleGumists
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and there's so many more of us
than you can imagine.
than you can imagine.
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Thank you so much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writerWanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa.
Why you should listen
Born in Nairobi, TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu is part of the new generation of African filmmakers. Her films have received international acclaim and have been screened in more than 100 film festivals around the world. To date, Kahiu has written and directed six films and is working on her second feature length film.
Kahiu's first feature film, From a Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.
In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan-African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance and went on to win best short film at Cannes and the silver at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Pumzi also earned Kahiu the Citta di Venezia 2010 award in Venice, Italy. She is currently in post production on her second feature film, Rafiki, as well as a feature length documentary Ger about UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany.
Wanuri Kahiu | Speaker | TED.com