Overall: Steam Locomotive
Everyday clothes collected across Nairobi were taken apart and, together with local residents, pieced back together as a patchwork reconstruction of an early-20th-century steam locomotive that once ran on Kenya’s railways. Nairobi was born out of railway construction in the late 19th century and grew alongside the passage of steam locomotives, but as motive power shifted to diesel and electricity, the steam locomotive gradually fell into decline. Temporary studios were opened to the public in districts across the outskirts of Nairobi, and neighboring residents, workers, and children would drop by and join in the patchwork making, almost as a form of play. Wearing the completed, oversized patchwork as a group, participants marched along the tracks of the Kenya Railways.
Details
Public Production Dates: January 1 (Fri) – 11 (Mon), 2010 Venue: Various locations in Nairobi (Ngara area, Gikomba area, Nairobi Arts Trust) Performance Date: January 12 (Tue), 2010 Venue: Railway line in the Kibera area Documentation Exhibition Dates: January 14 (Thu) – 19 (Tue), 2010 Venue: Nishio Kosakusho Nairobi Branch (Ngara area, Nairobi) Screening 1 Date: January 13 (Wed), 2010 Venue: Outdoor screening in the Ngara area Screening 2 Date: January 17 (Sun), 2010 Venue: Nairobi Arts Trust (within the GoDown Arts Centre grounds) Screening 3 Date: January 18 (Mon), 2010 Venue: Public Relations and Cultural Center, Embassy of Japan in Kenya Artist: Yoshinari Nishio Project Management: Sakiko Nishio Coordination: Simon Ayienga, Sauti Haji, David Omondi Facilitation: Megumi Unami, Kaoru Sawamura, Shogo Matsuki Video Filming and Editing: Yosuke Sato, Sawako Nakai Organized by: Nishio Kosakusho Nairobi Branch Supported by: The Asahi Shimbun Foundation Special Sponsorship: HR Institute Inc., Ichimaruyon Co., Ltd. Sponsored by: The Japan Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Nairobi Research Liaison Center Cooperation: Kenya Railways, Rift Valley Railways, World Bank Tokyo Development Learning Center / Public Information Center (PIC Tokyo), Nairobi Arts Trust / Centre for Contemporary Art of East Africa, Public Relations and Cultural Center, Embassy of Japan in Kenya
Documentation video
