https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kenyan-archaeology-exhibit
"For more than 20 years through the 1950s and 1960s, Karisa Ndurya worked as a
foreman at some of the first excavations of ancient monuments in East Africa.
Under the management of Scottish archaeologist James Kirkman, Ndurya supervised
teams of Kenyans who excavated the ruins of Gedi, one of the first medieval
Swahili settlements on what is now the Kenyan coast, and Fort Jesus on Mombasa
Island, the only fort maintained by the Portuguese. But if you were to read
through Kirkman’s records on the excavations, you would not encounter Ndurya’s
name or those of the Kenyans who labored alongside him.
Fifty years later, a new exhibition aims to set those records straight.
Currently on display at the Horniman Museum in London, “Ode to the Ancestors:
Kenyan Archeology” is an exhibition of 28 previously unseen archival
photographs commemorating the Kenyan archaeologists and excavators omitted from
archaeological archives. The exhibit also features contemporary work by young
people of African and/or Caribbean heritage, exploring what reclaiming African
history means to them. A sister exhibition, where the same photographs are
featured, is being held at the National Museums of Kenya at Fort Jesus. Both
exhibitions were curated by Sherry Davis, a musician, filmmaker, and
granddaughter of Ndurya."
Via Joyce Donahue and Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
