I wanted to announce you the release of our association’s new publication, articulated as a multidisciplinary collection of essays on Benga music, a Kenyan music genre, and various questions related to its current modern-day re-interpretation in the digital era. Edited in English and French, the publication includes essays by Scholars and artists such as:

Andrew Eisenberg (Professor NYU (Abu Dhabi))
Jehanne Dennogent (University of Lausanne)
Gregg Tendwa (Kenyan cross-medial artist, producer at Santuri Safari/Bengatronics)
Mbithi Masya (Film Director and founder of Just a Band)
Flexfab (Swiss Electronic Music producer)
KMRU (Kenyan Electronic Music producer)
U-Zehn (Swiss graphic artists)
Mathias Nagy (Ivorian-Swiss music label Nouchy Arts)
Shake it Maschine (Swiss Electronic Music Producer)
And others

“Benga a Kenyan Kaleidoscope” is actually the title of an interactive exhibition organized at a Swiss Cultural Centre in the summer of 2018. Conceptualised as a temporary exhibition accompanied with workshops and roundtables, the initiative aimed at documenting Benga, while introspectively and critically reflecting on its present-day artistic re-interpretation in Kenya and abroad. The exhibition envisaged to explore various current problematic questions:

Who is legitimate when speaking about a local artistic movement, when and why?
What is cultural appropriation in the context of design, music production, and journalism?
Can genuine interest in African music become a form of neo-imperialism?
How is the digital age impacting on North-South artistic relations?