This book could be an inspiration to look at one’s tradition and try to radically revive it.
When Virginia Whiles was lecturing in Salzburg, the Pakistan artist Aisha Khalid was teaching at the Salzburg Summer Academy. Among the students was the sister of the Tanzanian artist Salum Kambi his(name!). She was aspiring to implement miniature painting in her art-works. Kambi and his sister are from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, a culture quite comparable to Lamu’s.
Whiles: “Pakistan has become a central pivot in contemporary global politics: but what does the Western world know about it’s art? In recent decades Pakistan has seen a revival and radical reinvention of miniature painting. Miniature painting has become the major movement in Pakistani contemporary art.”
Librarian of Lamu Fort Library, Khadija Issa Twahir pointed out that Lamu’s culture is very much connected to (West-)Indian culture. Miniature painting has a long Islamic tradition, which makes it an especially important technique and artistic tradition for artists in the Islamic Kenyan coastal region of Lamu.
