Sondeka Festival: Iinnovation fusion of art and science

Q: I’ve heard a lot about the Sondeka Festival but haven’t attended any of its events. What is it about?

A:  Its aim is to get people to appreciate and understand creativity and innovation.

It was started by Liz Kiptum under Creatives Garage, in 2012. The idea is that there are so many creatives working, but not together as a force.

We therefore felt the need to create a collaborative space. So what the festival does is bring these artists and innovators together and expose them to the market place.

Q: There’s going to be innovators and there’s going to be artists. So, is this a ‘music festival’ kind of thing, or is it more of a ‘science congress’ kind of thing, to use the terms of high school.

A: It’s a fusion of all that - it’s both a music festival and science congress.  It’s a creative and innovative festival.  

We have performing arts - dancers, singers, deejays, rappers and poets. This year, we also have a theatre group coming in from South Africa, and film producers coming to speak.

Docubox, the film fund started by Judy Kibinge will be there. We’ll also have visual arts- painters, digital artists, fashion designers- some making their debuts with their fashion line.

And then, innovators. Engineers in robotics, young inventors, electrical engineers, soft ware engineers who are creating applications. There’ll be a display of cutting edge inventions, like the smart-jacket that charges phones and airplane prototypes.

Q: So there’s an all-round edge of innovation and creativity. There’s lots of festivals already - Storymoja, Kwani, Samosa etc. Why is everyone setting up a festival around creativity and art right now?

A: It’s not just about creativity as an end to itself; we’re looking at it in terms of economics - for both the artist and the country.

The creative economy is an area whose potential has been untapped and festivals like these try to do something about that.

To give an example of potential, there was a time the state of California was the 8the largest economy in the world.

And when you look closely, what does California have? It’s the place of Silicone Valley, Hollywood.

So people need to understand that that kid making a car out of wires is showing potential for things that he could later be doing for the economy, innovating.

In Kenya, right now, about  5.4 per cent of the Kenyan GDP comes from the creative industry.

And they’re estimating that in the next 5 years it will double to 10 per cent. The bulk of this right now is in advertising.

Nollywood makes 590 million US dollars a year. It is the second-largest employer in the Nigerian economy, so what the hell are we waiting for in this country?

Q: So what are the details about this year’s festival?

A: It runs from the 18the to 20th of October, tomorrow till Monday, at the Ngong Racecourse. Entry for one day is 700 bob, kids under 12 don’t pay. If one attends all three days, it’s 1,500 (shillings).

Q: Where would you say Kenya’s creative and innovation sector is at right now?

A: It’s in a rebirth. The reason I say a rebirth is because if we put it in the context of colonialism having stripped us of our music and sound. We were in a limbo for a long time. Fifteen years ago, it was hard to name music artists or actors on one hand.

There was Katitu Boys and Them Mushrooms. Now there’s like an explosion. We’re taking our presence back, in all sectors.

Q: Who are some of the artists performing this year?

A: There’ll be Them Mushrooms, Maia Von Lekow, Ricardo Garcia, flamenco guitarist with flamenco flow (his band).

And then there’ll be bands - Dira, Sarabi, Sirikali. There’ll also be several DJs - DJ Delight, who will be running New Jack Swing music of 90s.

Q: Them Mushrooms and New Jack! There’s some nostalgic ‘taking it back to the 90s’ thing going on I see.

A: Yes, and there’ll be lots of contemporary stuff as well. DJ Santuri Safari is fusing traditional ethnic East African percussion with techno and house music - think kao music with a techno track. Then there’ll also be DJ Zhao a Chinese DJ based in Berlin.

He fuses a lot of Kenyan music.

Q: Before I saw you, before we had this discussion, I wasn’t coming, it was nowhere on my mind. Now I’m sort of considering it. But, I’ve done the festival circuit so much that I’m now tired. Why should I come to this one?

A: Because, much as it may sound cliché, this is not just any other festival.

For the first time you’re going to be in a place where you don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not, you can explore and cultivate your guilty creative secret.

There are a lot of closet people. There’s a banker somewhere who is a singer. I’ve met a nuclear physicist who writes business articles.

This is a festival of pure interaction, where you can walk up to someone and find out more about what they are doing and if you want to get involved, find out how to do it too. It is a festival of connections, where you will connect with people who are like-minded and you won’t feel judged.

We live in a world where you have to be of a certain calibre, status and social standing.

We’re the generation where if you were busted sketching in a notepad in class, you were beaten senseless.

But here you can meet someone who sketches for a living. Connecting with a person like this gives you the freedom to dream again, and even more than that, act on that creative inclination.

That person you are hiding in the closet, that curiosity that you have never dared to indulge, comes out at Sondeka and gets a hearing. It’s all about being unashamed and expressing yourself for who you really are.

The Sondeka Festival also offers workshops on the creative economy, blogging, dance, techpreneurship, photography, film making and upcycling, among other areas.