GENERAL PRESENTATION
Drawing on the expertise of independent French and African photographers with rich teaching experience, the Alliance Française de Mombasa has imagined an ambitious program to support documentary photography in Mombasa. A cosmopolitan and multicultural city, Mombasa is the largest city on the Kenyan coast and the most important port in East Africa.
‘Foto Mtaani’ is a project whose main aim is to offer young Kenyan photographers, women in particular, an opportunity for training and networking with seasoned professionals. It is also meant to create pathways of exchange between French (mainland France and La Réunion) and Kenyan professionals.
Foto Mtaani was conceived in close collaboration with local stakeholders, starting with the Mombasa Photographers Hub association, on the basis of a survey of photography in Mombasa. The scarcity of exhibition spaces, the prohibitive cost of photographic equipment and the remoteness of the capital, where artistic and cultural life is concentrated, are considerable obstacles to the emergence of talent in the field of photography in Mombasa. Yet, there is a real interest in photography in Mombasa, particularly with the widespread use of smartphones and apps such as Instagram. As in many African metropolises, this trend is leading to a significant transformation in artistic practices in the field of photography.
Foto Mtaani will be held from September 2024 to March 2025, mainly in Mombasa, but also in its second phase in Nairobi and Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
CONTACTS
Mwakiwiwi Mwachia – Cultural coordinator of Alliance française de Mombasa Moyne Drive (Nyali) – 80118 Mombasa – Kenya
Email: cultural@afmombasa.org
Telephone : +254 747 439 339