I met Zarita in the fall of 2018 while we were both studying at Humber College in the post graduate Arts Administration and Cultural Management program. We became friends during the program and that friendship continued after graduation. Zarita was always passionate about arts education, and community arts. When I found out that she was working on a craft and culture magazine that was going to incorporate her passions, I was not surprised. I was very proud of her and I knew that I had to share the story on my blog. Sekoya East Africa is an arts and culture non-profit organization building capacity among craft artists in East Africa. Their work is centered on professional development of creative individuals and amplifying the work of emerging artists. They have produced the first crafts and culture magazine that is bringing artists together to tell the East African story collectively, authentically and honorably.
What inspired you to start Sekoya?
Ever since I joined the arts administration program at Humber College I purposed to transfer the knowledge acquired to the creative community in my home country Kenya, East Africa. In my mind this was many years to come after getting adequate experience in the arts in Canada. Then the pandemic started and there was an increased need to connect with my community at home, I was probably homesick. On top of it we had to remind the world that Black Lives Matter and at that time I felt an urge to contribute in representing Africa honourably as a way of dispelling the misrepresentation that populates the media everyday. So I looked closer at what I had in my hands, and decided to use the editorial and arts management skills I have acquired over the years to produce a crafts and culture magazine. Even at this time this was intended for the future, but one afternoon a friend asked me to review her graphic design portfolio and guess what was among the templates - a crafts magazine! I called her right away and announced that we were producing a magazine.
We chose to focus on telling the stories of emerging creators because they receive few opportunities that amplify their work. We also purposed to make it an arts education tool and incorporated established artists to share insight and inspiration on having a career in the creative industry. And it had to focus on crafts because the other art forms have lots of industry resources available, plus both my friend and I are craft artists. While in the middle of production we thought, how about having an organization that houses the magazine and provides ongoing support to emerging artists? That is how Sekoya East Africa was founded in December last year, and today engages 50 creators virtually providing creative skills development workshops, talks on how to run a creative enterprise, peer mentorship.
From concept to publication, how long did it take to bring Sekoya Magazine all together?
Nine months - full circle! This is the entire period from the day we started planning, doing outreach and calls for artists, production, design, editing to the day it was released at the end of April.
What can readers expect to find in the magazine?
Sekoya Magazine readers will find articles on personal stories and reflections of artists about their journeys, a catalogue of handmade products from E. Africa, do-it-yourself tutorials and features of creative professionals sharing their insights across the globe. In one magazine a reader interacts with artistic insight from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, UAE and Canada.
Left to right: Featured artist Joyce Wanjohi of Boundless Creations, featured brand Nyamirambo Womens' Products(Rwanda), featured brand Souvs by Simali, featured brand Voice of Amber Arts.
You are the first African graduate of the Arts Administration and Cultural Management program at Humber College. While working on Sekoya, did you draw on any knowledge that you gained from the program?
Sharon Zarita, Sekoya Founder
Lots of it, and lots from the experience I’ve had in the arts here. There was a planning course in Humber where we were challenged to be specific, narrow down and define every aspect of the project. I remember how every time the lecturer would ask us to do this and you’d be like “narrow down some more”? Haha. But this really helped guide the conceptualization of the magazine to meet a specific need in the industry. I appreciate how we were trained to plan and consider all aspects of a project from the beginning. It was a bit hard to accomplish this while managing a new project from miles away, but I did much better than before the program. I borrowed the collaborative spirit generally in the arts here and intended to make the magazine process follow this nature. In every stage of production, we invited people who are not in the core team to work brainstorming ideas, bring fresh perspectives and review our intended outcome. From the models of community arts work I’ve done here; we have incorporated a structure that provides informal arts education to the community using the magazine as a tool. 10% of the copies released will be made available to community centres who will be provided with a curriculum that will enable them to organize magazine readings and discussions. This way the stories from the magazine get to be retold and become conversation starters on art matters. Oh my, even this curriculum guide was an assignment we had to do at Humber! That program is shaping my career.
Tell me about the Sekoya team. Has anyone on the team ever worked on a project like this before?
Not one, me included. Well, my capstone at Humber was an arts magazine but that doesn’t really compare. It is such a unique team because even though we had not worked on a previous similar project, each of us is a master in their role so when all skills are combined magic is inevitable. We also share the same passion of amplifying the arts, supporting emerging artists and creating space for arts education so this kept fueling us. This magazine wouldn't be here without their dedication and wholeheartedness when working on this project, because my contribution was limited to tasks that can be done virtually since I’m here and the magazine was being produced in Kenya.
Sekoya Team captured by A Hurd Pictures
How did you find the artisans, crafters, and creative professionals that are featured in the magazine?
Instagram is such an encyclopedia! The craft artists in Kenya were easy to find because I’m still in touch with the creative community, plus there were many referrals from the team and friends. We wanted to include artists from all E.African countries but it was a bit of a challenge finding them because of lack of proper documentation/ search engine optimization. We were also filtering to feature those emerging/ intermediate in their practise. Even so we were able to have Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda represented! The Ugandan artist was literally referred to us a month before the magazine was released and her work was so good the lead designer decided to add a page in the magazine to feature the brand. We also have three artists from Canada, two of which were in our Humber program and the other, the Artistic Director of Obisidian Theatre, whom I met during my work in the arts here. We see this inclusion of stories from artists around the globe as a way of enabling international arts exchange. Moving forward, we are accepting feature requests from craft artists and other cultural professionals on an ongoing basis. Priority is given to E.African artists in the continent and diaspora, especially those who are emerging in their fields.
In addition to being the founder of Sekoya, and working as an arts administrator, you are also a craft artist. Where do you find the time to work on your own craft projects?
Honestly, I have so many untouched projects this year because of how involving this foundational stage has been. However, I enjoy crafting for gifting purposes, as a facilitator (fingers crossed Toronto reopens soon for this), and communally. So, when I visit friends instead of board games I bring craft supplies.
What is the creative economy like in East Africa?
I’ll speak specifically for Kenya because it’s impossible to cluster it all together. The creative economy is driven by performing artists, cultural artists, handmakers, lately digital content creators, among others. It is supported by our social culture; you will hardly find people gathering without music and dance. There has been an increased appreciation of the arts as a source of livelihood in recent years but there is still a lot more work to be done in creating enabling policies to sustain the industry. Every time an artist says they have a full-time job then create on the weekends; I dream of a day when it won't have to be this way. But every time I see a show, product, or event marked as sold out I am encouraged that this day will be here sooner than expected. There has also been an increased investment in the industry by the private sector where actors and performing artists are hired to be brand influencers. The pandemic shook things a bit, but with the same resilience as artists around the world many were able to utilize the digital space to keep creating, my favourites have been comic artists. This was so vibrant that the Kenyan government decided to introduce Digital Service Tax this year. There is also a gap in access to arts education and knowledge sharing between established and emerging artists. However, about two years ago the primary school curriculum was revised to incorporate more creative forms of learning which is a big win for future generations as they will start identifying their artistic skills early in life.
I think there is still a lot of global ignorance about Africa. What do you want people to know about East Africa?
Wooow, we could do an entire blog post because majority of the world still believes we are always living in a crisis like drought, hunger, war. But let me focus on the creative scene. First of all, Africa is a continent not a country as some people generally refer to it as such. In East Africa alone there are five countries with different cultures, traditions, and languages. The NGO world represents our culture mostly as a source for charity and in emotional fundraising appeals yet just like artists around the world we create just because we want to create. Our daily life is an unnamed artistic and cultural endeavour, and it would bring us so much joy to see it represented as such. You would be surprised to know that if there is a traditional/ life ceremony there is a 70% chance that all families will seek services of at least five creative professionals: fashion and design artists, photographers/ videographers, jewelry artists, hairdressers, performing artists. Isn’t this the entire theatre crew?
I would also urge donors and supporters of organizations that claim to sell African cultural products as a way of empowering our communities to do their research before committing. One time at Humber I was happy to see Me to We Rafiki bracelets being sold, then I discovered the questionable reputation of the organization even here in Canada. You will find that products made by African creators in some of these charitable initiatives are sold extremely higher than prices from the source, yet the said communities don’t represent a life that reflects that profit margin. I find it exploitative of our culture and traditions.
When is the next issue coming out?
End of July/ early August. We hope to produce three editions this year. The last one to be released in December and then we’ll evaluate its lifecycle.
How can people support Sekoya?
Purchase the magazine! Since we are a non-profit organization, all proceeds from this issue enable us to produce the next one. The copies are available as print for E.African countries and e-magazine globally on ISSUU at only 6.65 USD. Even though you might not be a crafts and cultural artist, this is a wonderful way to learn and increase your knowledge of E.African crafts and culture. We also accept donations to support the rest of our projects in the arts. You can donate via this GoFundMe or MChanga campaign.
Follow Sekoya on Instagram
Story by Glodeane Brown
Photos provided by Sharon Zarita
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