The Invisible Inventories Zine
The Invisible Inventories zine, published in 2021, brings together critical reflections, research findings, and artistic responses from this unique Kenyan-European collaboration. Available in both English and German, it serves as a platform for diverse voices exploring the complex realities of cultural heritage in a post-colonial world.
Through essays, conversations, and object biographies, the publication offers fresh perspectives on reimagining relationships between cultural institutions across continents.
Through essays, conversations, and object biographies, the publication offers fresh perspectives on reimagining relationships between cultural institutions across continents.
The Invisible Inventories zine, published 2021
88 pages, 21 x 29,7 cm, full colour
88 pages, 21 x 29,7 cm, full colour
Contributors include Chao Tayiana Maina, George Abungu, Wandile Kasibe, The Nest Collective, SHIFT Collective and other leading voices in cultural heritage and decolonization.
Key Themes: Database creation and analysis, cross-cultural institutional collaboration, object histories and biographies, decolonial approaches to heritage, community engagement and ownership, and digital heritage and accessibility.
The zine is available for sale in print and digital editions via Soma Nami Books (Kenya) and Iwalewa Books (Germany).
Key Themes: Database creation and analysis, cross-cultural institutional collaboration, object histories and biographies, decolonial approaches to heritage, community engagement and ownership, and digital heritage and accessibility.
The zine is available for sale in print and digital editions via Soma Nami Books (Kenya) and Iwalewa Books (Germany).
Featured Articles
A selection of the writings from the zine are made available here:
Database and Documentation
Examining the stories behind 32,000+ Kenyan objects in global museums
The database is a core element of the project. The idea of Kenyan objects abroad becomes very real when the numbers of these objects, alongside attendant details, become publicly accessible data...
(The Nest Collective / 15 min read)
The database is a core element of the project. The idea of Kenyan objects abroad becomes very real when the numbers of these objects, alongside attendant details, become publicly accessible data...
(The Nest Collective / 15 min read)
Partnership and Process
How Can We Trust When Everything is a Mess?
A frank discussion on power, trust and collaboration
Trust permeates everything we do together, even when we never name it directly. From data sharing to institutional relationships...
(The Nest and SHIFT Collectives / 18 min read)
Trust permeates everything we do together, even when we never name it directly. From data sharing to institutional relationships...
(The Nest and SHIFT Collectives / 18 min read)
Cross-Cultural Dialogue
Creating Bridges: A Museum Conversation
A dialogue on institutional collaboration and change
What began as a project about absent objects evolved into a deeper exploration of how museums can work together across continents...
(RJM, WKM and NMK Team Members / 12 min read)
What began as a project about absent objects evolved into a deeper exploration of how museums can work together across continents...
(RJM, WKM and NMK Team Members / 12 min read)
Historical Context
Unearthing Kenya's Foundational Silences
On archives, access and historical memory
The discussion on restitution of African cultural heritage must expand beyond objects to consider the place of African archives...
(Chao Tayiana Maina / 10 min read)
The discussion on restitution of African cultural heritage must expand beyond objects to consider the place of African archives...
(Chao Tayiana Maina / 10 min read)