IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

Cave markings, rock art and drawings go back to prehistoric times and are most probably the earliest examples of creativity and human culture. Contemporary evolutions of these markings as in wall art and graffiti still have a significant presence in contemporary urban space. In the ever-growing African cities these have immerged in many different unique modes of expression, including murals and graffiti; as commercial signs; and in domesticated surroundings like the design of workspaces. Apart from that, during the last two decades graffiti has evolved uniquely on the painted Matatu minibuses in Nairobi, Kenya. Since Kenya’s independence in 1963 these minibuses have become a central part of the public transport system in Nairobi enabling the daily transportation of at least three million people. The paper will aim to pinpoint the invention of an intercultural creation that has adapted the graffiti decorations on the minibuses as transport vehicles into the articulation of a new unique design category – the Matatu. Showing that they are not only modes of transportation but also platforms of cultural expression reflecting local creativity, identity, societal change and shaping Nairobi’s visual landscape. Though these Matatu minibuses are essentially the backbone of public transportation in urban Nairobi, this paper will not focus on the public transportation aspect of their activity. But, rather on the emergence of this relatively new everyday cultural hybridization, as urban art that reflects the combination of graffiti paintings with minibuses, identifying it as a moment of liminoid design.