An Artists Xchange project by Content House Kenya reveals “Turkana as a place of great beauty” seen from the eyes of Picha Marangi, a photographer and stylist from Kibera, and Elizabeth Korikel, a translator, beading artist, and singer.
Through the “Flyest Wedding in Africa” a fictional art, “Each day at work they complemented each other’s style, struck by how they both loved the bold colour and statement pieces. Along the way love blossomed. To celebrate their nuptials, they created looks that incorporated their shared love for vivid colour.”
Elizabeth’s beading work and Picha Marangi’s redesigned thrifted clothes. These are their wedding photos.
Content House is a collective of Kenyan filmmakers, writers and photographers formed to create and distribute content on subjects that were in the public interest, yet were underrepresented in the mainstream media.
In early 2018 @Pichamarangi, a photographer & stylist from Kibera traveled to Turkana on assignment. While in Turkana he met Elizabeth Korikel, a translator, beading artist & singer. #Turkana #ArtistsXchange pic.twitter.com/XJzr5wMMSt
— Content House Kenya (@ContentHouseKe) February 11, 2019
The Flyest Wedding in Africa is the first project from The Artists Xchange, that begun in 2018 bringing together artists from Turkana, Karamoja, Kampala and Nairobi to produce work that responds to the issues facing the Ateker region (Turkana & Karamoja) in a direct or abstract manner.
The artists work in various disciplines including video art, film, fashion, music, visual art and photography.
According to Content House, “This is a time of great change in the Ateker cluster region and there is an opportunity for artists from the region and beyond to be part of the discussion, exchange as well as bring art to the forefront of some of the most urgent issues of the region. With all the valuable minerals being found in the region, communities need to be treated as equal partners. They are the custodians of a rich heritage that can inform uniquely African thinking for what these natural resources finds mean to us.”
The Artists Xchange is a companion project of the feature documentary Turkana: Races for Resources (www.turkanafilm.com) which will be released in 2020.
Photos: Migwa Nthigah @migzzymigz
