Kabbo ka Muwala - (the girl's basket)

More about the book

The itinerant exhibition “Kabbo ka Muwala” explores the multitude of migration processes in and from southern and eastern Africa primarily through the work of artists from these regions: photo works, videos, mixed media, sculpture, performance and installations. The artists address dimensions of migrants' agency and identity, the emergence of transnational spaces as modes of cohabitation in local, regional and global contexts as well as experiences of violence and xenophobia. „Kabbo ka Muwala“ translates as "the girl's basket". The expression is understood across Eastern Africa and refers to a traditional practice: in a basket, the bride transports presents to her new family and her parents in turn. Metaphorically, the basket represents expectations and hopes, but also disappointments and setbacks, which come with marriage as well as with processes of migration. In the exhibition title, it also serves as a hint that migrations are gendered processes. The exhibition catalogue combines artistic and curatorial perspectives with essays on contemporary African migration from cultural studies and social sciences.