Samata Collective – Kenya Gathering 2025

Four unique arts and community organisations will join together in Kenya as Samata Collective – Project Elimu & Rona Foundation from Kenya, Jagriti from India & Tinderbox Collective from Scotland – bringing together over 200 dancers, musicians, poets, puppeteers, young people, community groups & elders for an extraordinary gathering and tour. Together they will travel from urban capital Nairobi to rural Siaya County – sharing performances, organising festivals, exchanging skills and meeting people along the way. The group will also be joined by researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as part of a project exploring digital inequalities and collaboration. 

 

After arriving in Nairobi, Samata Collective will first be hosted by the explosive dance programme and youth centre Project Elimu in Kibera.  Project Elimu are developing and launching their new dance show “Kibra Rising” – celebrating the community’s vibrant culture, resilience and talent, and creating an alternative narrative for one of Africa’s largest informal settlements.  Around 100 young people and dancers from Project Elimu will join the wider Samata Collective in Nairobi, spending the first days getting to know each other, sharing performances, developing new work and collaborating on the Kibra Rising show.

 

A group of 50 will then board a bus together and travel the width of the country as an eclectic touring festival and performing ensemble, sharing their music & artforms with people and communities along the way.  

 

The group’s destination, in the heart of Siaya County next to Lake Victoria, is Rona Foundation – an extraordinary rural community centre and widows advocacy group, providing a community school, farming and support for widows in the region. Celebrating the launch of their new creative arts programme and centre, Rona Foundation and Siaya County Government will put on a 2 day festival with Samata Collective, featuring creative workshops and performances with 100 primary school children, widows groups, youth clubs and other local residents.  

 

After another bus ride back to the capital, Samata Collective will join Project Elimu for a weekend of performances in Nairobi – first a community concert and showcase in Kibera, followed by the debut performance of Kibra Rising at the National Theatre of Nairobi.