TEXT NININI (what is text?)

A series of experiments and engagements around text as a means to archiving in the practices of artists and people who are part of the arts eco-system. The series is aimed at shaping a community which is more adept and open to engaging with text (or not) in artistic practice.

Text Ninini cohort1

This first iteration of our exciting writing retreat, "What is Text?" was organized by Iraa-the Granary in collaboration with esteemed storyteller Ogutu Muraya as part of Iraa's research into archival. For a period of 5days, participants engage in thought-provoking discussions and writing exercises. The retreat begins with two sessions at the Iraa Community Kitchen in Bweyogerere, followed by three immersive residential days at Buuka Space in Buloba. This is a unique opportunity to explore the art of storytelling and deepen your writing practice in a supportive environment.

Program brief as shared by Ogutu;

Text ni nini(what is text) – a dialogue between Literature and Orature

Facilitator: Ogutu Muraya

‘I write not as a writer, rather as a storyteller who writes.’

During a 5day workshop, Ogutu Muraya merged his role as a facilitator and scene-setter with his practice as a storyteller and writer. His opening remarks were a meditation on silence not just an absence of sound, but also as an absence of intention. From that silence, he introduced the game 'In Times of Mistrust' and the toolkit 'Time Accumulates'. In both, the word ‘game’ and ‘toolkit’ are used loosely – both are to be understood as in the likeness of games, or more technically in the likeness of ludic pedagogy – as an attitude of interacting with each other that puts emphasis on the importance of playfulness, curiosity, and an openness to surprise — without ceding intellectual rigor. The content of his provocations for the workshop are based on one, autofictions – quest narratives as seen through the journey of his education from Kenya to the Netherlands. And two, fabulations - his desire to reconnect with the imaginary by freeing the mind to reach for alternative dimensions that blur the lines between existing understandings and speculative thinking. He therefore offers to us an explorative method built inside four realms Nyafahamu (consciousness), Nyazamani (the past), Nyaleo (the present) and Nyausoni (the future). This exploration interweaves stories, memories, criticality and worlding – where the rules of the four realms and the refereeing of the games will be based on intuitive practice and the art of improvisation. This isdone in line with the suggestions from the Iraa community to explore ‘text’ through a layered and multiple perspective approach.