On Saturday, October 17, 2020 the TanZebras were invited to the Nafasi Art Space. The day was meant to give the kids access to the visual arts. Nafasi Art Space was founded in 2008 by a small group of Tanzanian artists. Today it is a lively community of artists, musicians, dancers, performers and technicians in the industrial area of Mikocheni B, in Dar es Salaam. The Nafasi platform has created an organic ecosystem in which the art scene can flourish and which enables many young Tanzanians to become artistic and cultural entrepreneurs.
The group of 50 TanZebras was at the Nafasi for the first time. In the morning, the group was introduced to the world of art by Jesse Gerald, program manager for visual arts at Nafasi. He talked about pioneers of art in Tanzania like Prof. Elias Jengo, Raza Mohamed, Sam Ntiro and Edward Tingatinga. The children could ask questions and marvel at works of art by these pioneers. Afterwards the group was given a tour of the exhibition rooms and the opportunity to take notes, take pictures and ask questions.
Our TanZebras then participated in two workshops: one workshop where we talked about the tradition of drumming and the history of traditional dances from different regions in Tanzania. Where, why and how they danced. This workshop was led by the Shine Dance Group.
The second workshop by Anthony Hall (aka Grandpa Stork), a US American who is involved with learning methods for children and young people through fitness.
After the action-packed morning there was a sumptuous lunch of fruit and samosas for all participants. Then there was a Grafitti Workshop, which was conducted by Andrew Munua. The result was a Grafitti bubblepaint with the letters Zebra. At the end the kids rehearsed and performed the TanZebra song with the newly learned dance steps. Shortly after four o’clock we went back to Gongo la Mboto.
The children were very engaged and interested all day long. He brought good mood and happy faces. This can also be seen on the many photos and videos that were taken during the event. The hosts at the Nafasi said that the group was very well organized and were happy to welcome the TanZebras as guests. They also noticed that there is a strong connection between the age groups and that everyone feels like one big family.
Here a comprehensive picture gallery of the day – have fun with the impressions: