African Rock Art: Protecting the Past, Facilitating the Future (ARA)

African Rock Art (ARA) is a Knowledge Exchange project funded by The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Central), that brings together Professor Selina Busby, applied theatre and digital technology company C&T the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA) and the Nairobi National Museum.

The aim of the project is to celebrate Kenya’s historic Rock Art by creating a digital and virtual reality “rock art safari” that incorporates applied theatre and drama education techniques. This resource will be rolled out in 30 Kenyan schools in an informal housing settlement within Nairobi in the summer of 2023.

In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces that typically are vertical stone surfaces. Rock Art is a global phenomenon that is found in many culturally diverse regions of the world including in Kenya. This project uses C&T’s Prospero platform to create a unique fusion of drama and technology to bring these historic, remote art works to a whole new generation of young Kenyans, living in some of the poorest communities in Nairobi and then to young people in schools in England. The Virtual Reality package will also be available anywhere in the world via the project website.

C&T has a well-developed programme of work in Korogocho, working with a local drama practitioner and digitally facilitating drama work here for over ten years. This partnership with TARA, The National Museum of Kenya and Central via Prospero will connect schools in an innovative new project to bring the riches of these Rock Art sites to life in vibrant, creative ways.

Capturing, Dramatising and Digitising Rock Art

In January 2023 a team of experts from C&T, TARA, Nairobi National Museum’s Earth Sciences Department and Central visited six rock art sites across remote places in northern Kenya. In each of these locations the sites were captured in 360 immersive video and binaural sound recording. Interviews with Earth Scientist John Mwangi and rock art expert David Coulson were recorded in situ. Discussions between Peter Mwashi Litonde a Nairobi based drama practitioner, and community coordinator and John Mwangi were filmed talking about the project in Swahili and sections of the drama workshops were also recorded in Swahili and English with Peter Mwashi Litonde at the rock art sites. 

These materials will be used to create a digitally facilitated participatory drama experience exploring the history and significance of these sites. This VR experience will be packed with mysteries to unravel, tasks to solve and challenges to undertake, all mixing accessible tech with drama techniques. Whilst playful, this experience will be a powerful learning tool when incorporated with applied theatre and drama education techniques through the latest digital technology allowing anyone with access to the internet to use these resources, enabling this work to be accessible to children in some of Kenya’s poorest schools in Korogocho, Nairobi, as well as around the world.

Work in Nairobi’s informal schools

Korogocho is an informal housing settlement on the outskirts of Nairobi, home to around 100,000. Poor sanitation, lack of clean water and healthcare along with high rates of crime and low levels of access to education typify like in Korogocho. C&T has been working in the settlement for over ten years and have developed strong partnerships with local artists and community workers. Informal schools provide basic educational provision: they are cheap, fee paying schools that provide daily tuition in often-make shift premises with little or no books or resources, and they fill a gap where state school provision is not available to local families.

The rock art programme will focus on supporting learners in these schools. Once the development work in Prospero is completed, local theatre practitioners and community workers will take the interactive learning materials into these schools across Korogocho with the aim of introducing children to these historic, cultural sites and their significance virtually.

To enable this work to happen C&T and Central will provide local artists with a touring rig of VR headsets linked to Prospero via mobile data connections, meaning any school will be able to access the rock art safari. Drama workshop leaders will facilitate an in-person programme of workshops alongside the VR package, creating a dynamic blended interactive learning experience.

The aim will be three-fold. First, to introduce these children to aspects of Kenya’s historic cultural sites, locations they, or anyone else, would be very unlikely to ever visit in as they are both remote and difficult to access. Second, to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on these historic sites. Third, to invite museum visitors in Kenya and people across       globe to take the Rock Art Safari online and encounter and explore the sights and sounds of these ancient, cultural sites for themselves.