Curator Meets Missionary Report
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CURATOR MEETS MISSIONARY Tanzania / Kenya - 6 Jan to 28 Jan 2019 Claudia Zeiske Deveron Projects Book: A. M. Mackay, Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary Society to Uganda On January the 7th 2019, not long after the Christmas holidays I embarked on an art inspired journey to East Africa accompanied by Tessa Jackson and Pauline Burmann, both friends and colleagues. Our route was loosely taken from that of Alexander MacKay to the kingdom of Buganda. Mackay - often called ‘MacKay of Uganda’ - was an Anglican missionary, who came from Rhynie near Huntly, my chosen home town. Around 1850, in his mid-twenties, he left Aberdeenshire via Zanzibar towards Lake Victoria. The route he took however was not new, it was the old Arab slave trade route that brought people from inner Africa to the East Coast, where they were shipped to the Middle East, mainly to serve as house servants. Both Tessa and Pauline are highly recognised figures in the African contemporary arts discourse. They are both happy to call themselves curators but I’m not always so sure... In following the footsteps of Alexander MacKay I began to question my role in all of this. SKYpe exchanges with a Shadow Curator* To resolve my reflections on Alexander Mackay’s journey and my own and to create some kind of resolution to this experience, I asked my current young Shadow Curator* to discuss via Skype. *What is a shadow curator? A Shadow Curator (like the Shadow Minister in parliament) acts as an embedded critic who scrutinises what we do and thereby brings constructive alternatives to our work process. As such, shadow curating is a critical methodology: the agonistic way. Why the fascination with a 19th century Missionary? I would like to find out what really motivated Mackay? Was it the mission to spread Christianity solely, or were there other aspects that drove him to leave his home country to go to one of the most far away, inaccessible places on Earth? At the time, little was known of Africa. All he knew was that there was a lake in the middle of it, his father had a map in his rectory. I myself have had a life-long wanderlust, itchy feet, or Fernweh, that’s what we call it in Germany. Fernweh (farsickness) is the opposite of Heimweh (homesickness), a longing to see other places that are far from your own culture. When I first came across Alexander McKay, who was brought up in this isolated village outside Huntly, I got kind of obsessed with trying to understand him. I read his letters and diaries that were put together by his sister after his death. As a child he already ran 10km to Gartly to see a train. His sister says, because he was such a good mechanic but I think it’s because of his farsickness. I have no doubt that he was a Christian of full calibre. But I feel there was something else behind his motivation. You sometimes entertain the idea of calling yourself an ‘Art Missionary’ - what other 'missions' or roles do you think you came with on this trip? A missionary is traditionally a person that is sent to promote their religion (eg. Christianity) in a foreign country. They were the fore-bearers of colonialism - bringing our ideas, ethics and economic systems with them. Today many of us feel ashamed of this past. We like to distance ourselves from that. But I think we just come with different missions now. After the missionaries came the Anthropologists, their mission was to understand the different cultures. As curators, we cannot deny that we come with our own ideas and baggage of what is “good” art. I feel we need to be aware of this dynamic coming from any profession. You seem to be deeply questioning the power relations that are unavoidable as a White European Curator or even just a White European traveler. Does this questioning change your approach to curation and travel? Everybody who travels must have a mission. Some think they support the local economy, others want to see the landscape. Young people today are often going to work in places like orphanages. I don’t think they are only motivated by the cause, they are motivated primarily by the fact that they can travel to a far away place. Helping makes them feel good; it gives them a reason to do this journey. This is how McKay must have felt, I think. I myself, I am driven by trying to experience and understand other places. Art is a good conduit for this. The art world is a like a big worldwide family. You always feel welcome. Maybe like football, there is always a common denominator, something to share. But in addition, there is this desire to assist on the one hand side and to connect on the other. Giving people opportunities is a quite colonial attitude, we cannot deny this. But genuinely trying to connect is more democratic. My approach is to always at least try to find ways of connecting with the way local people travel, live, eat, appreciate culture. Language is important in all this. I speak a little Swahili, which is a way in. But in the end it is never enough, as you said it is unavoidable. I am white, privileged, wealthy, with loads of choices. I don't need to travel, but I choose to do so. Many people asked us why we take the bus, when there is a plane. Many don’t have a choice. I choose to travel slowly because I want to, not because I have to. Maybe it is the Anthropologist in me that forces me. So you believe that in spite of this imbalance there is a possibility for equal exchange? No, I don’t think so. It will never be equal, not in my lifetime at least. But even by just thinking about it, maybe we can soften the imbalance. I don’t mean the economic one, or the political one. But maybe the friendship one. Being a Mzungu*, always being curious, might not be the worst thing after all. Being aware of it is important though. When it comes to art exchange, we need to make sure that we don’t just apply our own criteria of good/bad art. We need to give people who have not had the opportunity to go to a western art school a chance. Personally I find it fascinating to discover old crafts, and different techniques, that are not viewed through the eyes of the western curator, but through the eyes of a curious person. *Mzungu is a Bantu language term used in the African Great Lakes region used to refer to someone with white skin and foreigners more generally Dar es Salaam Interest • The Makumbusho village museum showcases authentically constructed dwellings from 16 of the over 130 ethnic groups in Tanzania. Those we have seen include: Bena, Chagga, Fipa, Gogo, Haya, Hehe, Iraqw, Kwere, Makua, Mwera, Ngoni, Nyakyusa, Sukuma, Yao, Zanaki, Zaramo. • Tingatinga is a painting style that developed in the second half of the 20th century in the Oyster Bay area in Dar es Salaam and later spread to most East Africa. Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of tourist-oriented paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighboring countries. The genre is named after its founder, Tanzanian painter Edward Said Tingatinga. • Nafasi Art Space is a platform for artistic exchange in Dar es Salaam, where contemporary visual artists and performing artists come together. It hosts over 50 artists, 37 studios, and some exhibition spaces. They offer regular programmes including training and workshops, art talks, and public events, such as film screenings, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, and public art fairs. • Pauline Burman researches, advises and facilitates art projects concerning Africa and its diaspora. She is Director of the Africanartsandtheory.nl platform and Chairperson of the Thami Mnyele Foundation in Amsterdam. • Tessa Jackson, OBE, is an independent curator and Director of International Cultural Development. Summary We kicked off our travels in Tanzania’s cultural capital Dar es Salaam. Here we already met the artist and film maker Rehema Chachage for breakfast. She has been in residence at the Thami Mnyele Foundation in Amsterdam, as well as undertaking a short research residency in Huntly in 2018. Rehema was a very helpful chaperone both in art as well as in practical terms, ensuring our journey kicked off to a good start. Sanaa = Art in Swahili Reflections on a Missionary My journey started with a taxi from Huntly to Aberdeen airport. From here it took 16 hours with stops in Amsterdam and Kilimanjaro (where most people left) to Dar. Alexander MacKay had made his way to Southampton from Aberdeenshire. It took him about half a year until he arrived in Zanzibar. What motivated him beyond the distribution of the Christian faith to leave his home for good? Zanzibar Interest • Michenzani is a large neighbourhood in the modern part of Zanzibar City in Tanzania. The place is mostly known for the Plattenbauten, i.e., the large apartment blocks that were built here during the cold war with the aid of East Germany; still desired today. • Dhow Countries Music Academy is the prime and only music school in Zanzibar. Its aim is to preserve and promote music heritage of Zanzibar the “dhow region” which include countries along the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Arab Gulf such as Zanzibar, Comorros, Oman, Kuwait, Iran, U.A.E and India. Particular emphasis is being placed on teaching traditional music styles, such as taarab, kidumbak and ngoma.