a beautiful slum?

Who sits at your kitchen counter as an artist
For far too long, Kibra, originally named after the Nubian word for Forest, has been as black and white. As a slum and nothing more. The eyes of the people who do not live in our communities have characterized it during the past and recent times. I have always believed that the architecture of a place is the people, it’s almost impossible to destroy a person’s connection to a place.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word SLUM? Do you only see the
oppression, do you only see the violence or do you see the beauty and endless possibilities? To me it’s Kibera, a place I love to call home. “A Beautiful Slum” invites you to embark on a journey through Kibra, (seeking the same liberation as others oppressed worldwide), a vibrant and resilient community often misrepresented by stereotypes.

These photos invite you to sit with the beauty, creativity, shortcomings and strength of its residents, challenging preconceived notions and offering a fresh perspective on informal settlements and opening conversations about the “othering” of a community. To love and live in Kibera is to love challenges, or at least that is what we tell ourselves when we compare an ever changing community with the calmness of other places in the city ,through these captivating stories and interactive imagery, “A Beautiful Slum” celebrates the unique culture, spirit and a curious tapestry of Kibera, inviting you to see this community not as a problem, but as a source of inspiration and hope, through our quantitative and qualitative research, compiled over the last year and a half, we have been able to help community members, nonprofits and citizens to better understand the vibrancy and color that Kibra brings to Nairobi. With the project, A beautiful slum?

We are working on exemplifying all of the shades of community that help to bolster Kibra and our push for amplifying community voices, as well as identifying the current struggles being faced. Be prepared to see culture and history, everyday life, Kibra’s ancestors, the living room, the people, the problems and community led solutions as we bring Kibra to life, by painting a clearer picture of the largest forest in Nairobi. A BEAUTIFUL SLUM.