Tanzania is a country in East Africa rich in culture, language, art, music, and traditions. With over one hundred ethnic groups, each with their own language in addition to the national language of Kiswahili and the secondary language of English, the diversity is tremendous. The various ethnic groups not only have their own languages, but they also have kept traditional music and dance alive, performing for themselves at their celebrations and also performing in troupes across the country to entertain other Tanzanians and tourists.

Another tradition kept alive is the Makonde carving, originating with the ethnic Wamakonde, which has become famous internationally. The tradition of creating batiques is used all over the country to create two-dimensional art and textiles for clothing. These batiques are alive with colors, patterns and symbols honoring nature and the tasks of daily life. Yet with all of the diversity and traditional art forms available throughout the country, it remains that the majority of Tanzanians are not fortunate to have exposure to the great poets, authors, athletes and visual and performing artists. There are very few museums in the country, and those existing are less devoted to exhibiting classical and contemporary art, and more devoted to memorializing historical events. Bookstores mostly exist in the commercial city of Dar es Salaam, and availability of books depends on both the financial capabilities of the publishers and the demand of buyers, who also must be financially capable of affording the books. The youngest generation is presently at great risk of missing out on exposure, education, and dialogue about the unique talents and cultural heritage which Tanzania has to offer.

My desire is to create a documentary through various media, including film, photographs, a website and my artwork to preserve the contributions of the great historical talents originating in Tanzania. For the year of my fellowship, my proposal would include one or more trips to Tanzania with a photographer/film maker to locate the villages where the subjects live or lived. The types of talents I wish to remember include the poet, Shaaban Robert, the famous drummer, Mzee Morris, the singer, Makongoro, and soccer players like Gibson Sembuli. I also wish to recognize and honor some of the masters of various traditional art forms that are being kept alive, such as the Makonde carvers, visual artists, and traditional dancers. I expect that through the process of researching and interviewing people, other great talents will be revealed. The research will include speaking to the subjects themselves (if still alive), relatives, friends and colleagues to gain video, photograph and taped coverage of their stories. Additional research will include locating archived film, texts, or tapes of the subjects. Such information could come from radio stations such as VOA (Voice Of America), BBC (British Broadcast Corporation), and RTD (Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam), newspapers such as Uhuru, Daily News, and Mzalendo, and libraries such as that at University of Dar es Salaam.

Upon completing the research, I will create a body of artwork, a documentary film, a children's book, and a website corresponding to the work, lives and stories of the aforementioned subjects. Regarding my own artwork, to this point, my collection of art has embodied two distinct styles. The collages utilize natural materials such as banana tree bark, birch bark, leaves, and husks, combined in a traditional meticulous process. These pieces either show scenes from daily life in Africa, or they show "ujamaa," which is Kiswahili for cooperation and unity in family and community life. My second style is a painted and abstracted contemporary form of ujamaa. Once the proposed body of artwork is complete, I would like it to become a part of the Tanzanian National Museum's collection. The documentary film would be available for Tanzanian television stations, and if possible, to any country's public television stations. A text version in Kiswahili would be created and provided to all primary schools in the country, to ensure that all children receive deserved exposure to their country's great artistic and cultural talents. Finally, I will create and maintain a website with the same information provided in my artwork, the film, the photographs and the children's text. The benefit of having a website with this information is that it would be available to anyone internationally with access to the internet. Even in Tanzania, the number of people who use the internet is increasing rapidly. By utilizing the above forms of media, I hope to make accessible to Tanzanians and the rest of the world the unique talents and cultural heritage, which should be recognized, honored and preserved.

©2003 Ujama' ART. All Rights Reserved