For African Americans, the interruption of our cultural connections to Africa is one of many ripple effects from the institution of slavery that has impacted our identity.
But the interruption wasn’t exclusive to those who were abducted and disseminated around the world. There was a disruption of tradition amongst those who remained on the continent imposed on them by colonizers. Native cultural identity was criminalized, and the damage was irreparable. While they didn’t bear the chains of slavery, colonization resulted in a broken link between Africans and the rich, unique traditions that birthed the cultural richness and diversity that is as broad and valuable as the natural – and human – resources that drew Western Europeans to the continent in the first place.
Restoring that cultural connection is at the core of Kenyan artist Moraa Nyaribo’s practice.
“I look at it as an outsider the same way as if you saw a lot of these traditions,” Moraa said. “I am being introduced to them for the first time because I never took part in them. For me, I felt like it was important to try to be able to bridge the gap between when they stopped being practiced and what they would have looked like in today’s age.”
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, she will discuss her exhibition Nyuso: A Celebration of African Artistry & Afrofuturism. The collection is on display through September 27 at The Gallery at The Kranzberg.
“This exhibition is a love letter to myself and my culture,” said Nyaribo, who also serves as the Kranzberg Arts Foundation Resident Artist.
“My take on Afrofuturism is the imagination of how traditions would have naturally evolved had they not been interrupted.”
In her native Kenya, colonization is propagandized as this wonderful institution that brought “civilization” to the continent where the concept originates. Those who fought against the British were demonized in her school’s history books.
“They were fighting for us to have independence,” Nyaribo said.
It wasn’t until she arrived in America for the first time– to attend the famed Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019 – that she realized how truly disconnected she was to the history of cultural richness in the country where she was born and raised.
“I was like, ‘Wait, hold up, I don’t even know who I am or who my people are,’” Nyaribo said.
She felt disconnected because she didn’t see things she could relate to as an African and as an artist, so she is trying to create those relatable experiences that provide a pathway back to the culture.
“Yes, I am a new artist, but hopefully I am a little dot in the sea of contributions to Black art and representation,” Nyaribo said. “That’s really the basis of my practice – to talk about our traditions in a positive light.”
Before obtaining her MFA in Fibers from SCAD, Nyaribo was an established designer within the fashion industry in Kenya. She is a second generation designer. Her mother owned and operated a shop that made custom garments.
“I grew up in her store,” Nyaribo said. “We went there every day after school – which was not too far from the shop.”
She saw the creativity that took place on a daily basis. The careful selection of fabrics – with bold colors and patterns. The joy expressed by customers from the experience upon receiving the finished garments that began with mere sketches was another inspiration for Nyaribo to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
After earning an undergraduate degree in Textiles from the University of Nairobi, Nyaribo embarked on a career of her own coming to the United States to further her education within the field.
“The culture I grew up in, you never need an excuse to dress up,” Nyaribo said. “So, when I first came to America, no offense, I was a bit underwhelmed. Joggers were all people wore. People didn’t come out and wear their best fabric or have this elaborate sleeve or all this jewelry. I grew up seeing people do this every weekend – seeing people dress and accessorize like this for church or whatever function.”
She expanded beyond fashion design because she wasn’t able to fully communicate her creativity through fabric alone. She felt boxed in and wanted to explore additional mediums to express her deepened appreciation and newly established connection with her culture.
“Africa is the present and the future because it is timeless,” Nyaribo said. “You can’t deny the beauty that is in Africa, the cultural traditions that are in Africa or the spirit of Africa.”
She hopes that through the exhibition and the talk that she compels others to embrace African culture as a form of self-love.
“I want them to feel as if their Blackness is enough – in whatever form or in whatever way they choose to express themselves, their Blackness is good enough,” Nyaribo said. “I hope they know that they can take up space, be brilliant, be unapologetic – and just be.”
The gallery talk for Moraa Nyaribo’s Nyuso: A Celebration of African Artistry & Afrofuturism will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 16 at The Gallery at The Kranzberg, 501 North Grand Blvd. The exhibition will be on display through September 27. For more information, visit kranzbergartsfoundation.org.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
