We invite you to participate in the seminar “Media Education and Arts” organized by the University of Szczecin and Academy of Art in Szczecin, during which there will be hosted lecturers by Prof. John Mugubi and Dr. Priscilla Gitonga from the Kenyatta University in Nairobi.
26th of October, 6.00 pm (CET)
Prof. John Mugubi – Film, Media, Television in Kenya
16th of November, 6.00 pm (CET)
Dr. Priscilla Gitonga – Digitalization Issues in Kenya
These lectures are realized within the TPPAE project.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91915132367?pwd=eEk2blVaOVJHRkN3YUxsaEFtNTBRZz09
Meeting ID: 919 1513 2367
Passcode: 4YQL0Q
Prof. John Mugubi
History of the Kenyan Film 1900-2020: Substance and Structure
The Kenyan film is emerging a strong element of Kenya’s popular culture. It has established for itself the unique characteristic ability to meet the entertainment and educational needs of the cross spectrum of Kenyan society. However, not all scholars and analysts can recall the evolution of Kenyan film and the political, historical, and cultural elements that shape its current form. Home video and television dramas are emerging as very powerful and popular media of communication in Kenya. But in spite of their growing volume and popularity, not many analysts understand the historical complexities that have shaped the Kenyan film’s current form and structure. An examination of the history and origin of the Kenyan Film can without doubt lead us to its current reality or the reality that it aspires to project. This seminar paper will endeavour to lay the groundwork for such a discourse. Rudimentary in structure and form, the genesis of filmmaking in Kenya is traced and tracked from pre- to post-independence, all the way to postmodern Kenya. The guiding framework is hinged on the 5WsH of journalism; Who made the films, Where, When, and What they are about. How and Why portions are delved into later on. Acknowledging the enormity of the task at hand, a careful sampling of notable films across the Kenyan cinematic spectrum will be picked and highlighted to paint a vivid picture and to be inclusive as much as possible. This seminar paper will look at the historical origins of the Kenyan Film as a way of putting in focus and proper perspective its current challenges and future direction.
Please find the recording below
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Dr. Priscilla Gitonga
The significance and challenges of digitization and digitalization of visual and performing arts in Kenya
The importance of digitization and digitalization in the 21st century cannot be overemphasized. In 2015, Kenya switched TV signal from analog to digital platform. While celebrating the advantages of these two technological processes, it was expected that other sectors, for instance, government offices, corporate institutions, and education, would soon catch up with the trend. While these may have been ongoing, digitization and digitalization technologies have lagged behind especially with regard to visual and performing arts. Institutions of higher education (IHE) have a huge responsibility to teach the practices of making music and other arts, both through Western and African practices, since the subjects are not automatically offered as part of the primary and secondary school curriculum. In addition to preserving authenticity and maintaining African pedagogical approaches to indigenous knowledge – especially in performing arts such as music and dance – fast evolving technology, effects of globalization, and the need to educate, propagate, preserve, and tell our stories to future generations, occasions an immediate consideration and uptake of digitization and digitalization technologies in institutions of higher education teaching creative, visual, and performing arts.
This seminar is a reflection on the:
– Context of creative, visual and performing arts in IHE in Kenya
– Current challenges associated with the production, accessibility, storage, and posterity of indigenous products of visual and performing arts.
– Advantages of digitization for the Kenyan context and that of IHE.
– Challenges of digitization for IHE teaching.
It is hoped that the seminar will open a dialogue on ways in which this collaboration through the TPAAE would contribute towards building capacity and infrastructure for digitization preservation of visual and performing arts in Kenya.
Please find the recording below