1. Why Dar-es-Salaam?
Partly through a lucky quirk of fate – I arrived in Malawi in 1998 as a volunteer for an NGO there, and traveled up to Dar by bus to celebrate the millennium in Zanzibar. I was only in Dar for two nights but fell in love with the city then. I was lucky enough to be offered a job with a publishing company in Dar in 2002 so moved to the city then. My office was in Zanaki Street so most lunch times I explored the city centre by foot soaking up the atmosphere and street scenes. I soon realized that the character of the old city centre was being transformed as the old buildings were being demolished and replaced by generic high rise – transformed both in terms of the architectural heritage as well as the character of the public space around them.
So I decided to start documenting the old street scenes in an effort to capture some of the magic of the old city and with a view to raising awareness of the situation. While all cities transform over time, I think Dar is at risk of loosing a huge amount of its architectural heritage and with it, part of its identity. As ever more tower blocks are being crammed into the city centre, the pressure on the infrastructure and amenities also becomes almost unsustainable. So I aim to contribute to the debate about how best to combine preservation of some of Dar’s unique identity whilst also moving forward and improving the urban space for its inhabitants and visitors.
2. How do you think sketches and literary works present a better picture than, say, photographs?
Dar-es-Salaam is a visually hectic place. A photograph captures the entirety of a view in an instant. When I sit and draw I get to soak up the atmosphere of one spot for quite some time, and also can choose which aspects of the scene to focus on and accentuate. I also think some people can be more receptive to drawings than photographs as they are a more unique and personal take on the subject. The same applies to creative writing – each piece presents an individual angle and personal view of the city within the context of the writers experience and identity. I think stories are one of the most powerful and engaging things in the world, and I think a more accessible form of literature than more academic historical tomes. Street level involves a great collection of writers from different walks of life and countries each with their own unique voice, style and viewpoint – which in turn reflects the nature of Dar’s dynamic mix of residents.
3. Who do you hope to attract and engage with through your work?
I hope to make my work accessible to everyone, whether its inspiring someone who has lived in the city all their life to see even one small aspect of it with fresh eyes and pride, or to introduce the city to a newcomer, perhaps a visitor who would not previously have considered exploring Dar-es-Salaam before rushing off to the many other beautiful parts of Tanzania. I like to think the work can be taken on several levels from just its aesthetic appeal, to being a spring board for discussion of the issues around heritage conservation, urban space and sustainable development. I would like it to be a rallying point and call to arms for the many people and organizations who are concerned by Dar’s transformation but in need of a coordinated and concerted effort to find a constructive way forward.
4. Do you plan on selling your work for a cause?
From the outset of selling postcards and prints of my artwork I have hoped to donate a proportion of the sales to organizations doing positive work relevant to the project. It is early days, and print and logistic costs of the initial low volumes mean that I have not managed that so far, but it is definitely part of the vision for the future. In the meantime i like to think it is contributing to the cause of raising awareness, promoting Tanzanian creative writing and inspiring others!
5. How can our (Vijana FM) readers help?
Your readers can get involved by visiting the blog (www.darsketches.wordpress.com), seeing the work in progress and contributing – for example by suggesting places in Dar they think would be important for me to draw and sharing any stories and histories they have of Dar. I realize there are endless stories people have of the city and its inhabitants, which maybe never get written down, so I hope to be able to collect some of these stories and make them accessible to others who are interested in them. They could also help by spreading awareness of the DarSketches project to others if they think they would be interested both as a viewer and contributor as well as letting me know of any interesting artistic and literary projects going on in Dar es Salaam.
I plan to include on the blog a list of other people and organizations who are involved in heritage conservation and sustainability issues in Dar, so readers may be able to contact them and offer their support in other ways as well!
We have written about DarSketches before, but we thank Sarah for sitting down with us to give us a personal interview.
Watch this space for updates on “Street Level”, the book that will be based on the blog. Visit DarSketches or contact Sarah on sarahindar (at) gmail (dot) com
AK I have visited this blog, the sketches are beautiful done, its almost the the real thing!
Excellent work Sarah and yes I would be interested to buy some of your postcards, please distribute them to supermarkets, bookshops, leisure centers, resorts and everywhere. I found her sketches very educative and very much alive!
Brilliant stuff!
Nionavyo, did you ask Sarah to reserve a copy for you? I cant wait for mine…
By the way, awesome interview… I’m a huge fan of her/their work!
My friend likes postcards so much, perhaps it would be nice to surprise her with a postcard from dar. Looking forward to buying one. Good work.
SN:
I have not reserved a copy, I will email her and get the info.
I always visit her blog, honestly the sketches are very eye catching, I recommend them to everybody.
As an academic entrepreneur, I can’t help brainstorming what she can do with them, apart from postcards.
She can do kids cartoons, T-shirts, mugs, china, mouse pads, canvas pictures etc etc etc.
The sketches are awesome!
Why are they demolishing historical buildings in Dar? Dar es Salaam centre has a very unique history, why on earth are we erasing it? Imagine if they also started constructing skyscrapers in Zanzibar’s Stone Town.
As much as I hate to say it, expect Stone Town to also experience some demolishing in a decade or so.
This, unfortunately, is the impact of a growing city in today’s terms. The way we have come to define an urban metropolis is through the lenses of cities like New York, Paris, and Shanghai. We – that is, civil society – have not seemed to reach a consensus on building a city where its history, heritage, and traditions are preserved.
Indeed, cities should grow, and we must mantain modern standards of our cities. However, cities can grow without the need to erase its past. In Dar’s context, since we are expecting to have the new Kigamboni city why don’t they just build skyscrapers there and stop demolishing historical buildings in the city centre for this purpose? They can just refurbish them and be sure there are safe for the surrounding.
In many major cities of the world, there are places catalogued as the ‘old town’ bordered to the modern city with the high-risers. Therefore demolishing the old town shouldn’t be the only option.
The way I see it, Kigamboni is just perfect for this expansion. Dar is not Hong Kong – we have so much space.
True, but let’s think how much has developed in the current Dar city center, considering the port, Kariakoo, etc. Until Kigamboni is easy to get to (ie: with the help of a bridge that takes 5-10 minutes to get into the new city), I think Dar’s history is kidogo doomed.
Of course, there are ways to change the name of the game through peaceful and entrepreneurial means. DarSketches (and the general media) is one way, restoration is another, and socially conscious consumerism is a third.
Ni kweli msemavyo, lakini ebu tuangalie kama lile jengo la salamander, ebu nieleze sie wabongo tutakosa nini kwa kutokuwepo like jengo pale?
Au Kuwepo kwa majengo mapya, mie naona faida ni kwetu, kwanza watu wengi zaidi watapata ofisi za kupanga na yako salama zaidi.
Kuvunjwa kwa majengo yale yenye maana sana kama kanisa la Azania front haitawezekana, sasa ukiangalia wizara mbili tatu, zilikua kwenye majengo ya kihistoria sawa, lakini hayakuwa salama na hayakutosheleza kidhi za wizara, hayo sidhani kama mnalamika kwa kuyakosa wazee?
Ila nawaelewa na naomba mkumbuke, kama mijengo imejengwa zamani na haina kasoro, sidhani kama wahusika watathubutu kuyavunja.
Great interview AK.
For those interested in the book It is out, published by Mkuki na Nyota see http://www.facebook.com/mkukinanyota and available in all leading bookshops around the country. It’s a gorgeous book beautifully done and of course with amazing work by Sarah. It will look great on your coffee table 😉 Don’t sleep on it, It’s moving fast so get your copy. For those who are outside Tanzania you can buy your copy online here http://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/street-level African Books Collective ships to Europe and North America so they’ll get the book to you very quickly. So now you know where to get your copy.
The demolishing of our city is a result of greed, simple as that. Most buildings that are demolished are not unsafe as some would like to suggest. Part of being a progressive society is having a respect for culture and history unfortunately this is not always the case because money comes first and everything else follows later. What the historical part of town needs is restoration and rejuvenation. This is where you develop the cultural sector with all activities such as perfomance spaces, museums, galleries, restaurants, parks and areas for tourists and locals to shop. You will make more money and at the same time preserve the rich history of the city that way than you will ever make with those hideous glass structures called office blocks (which by the way require so much energy to operate) It is purely lack of vision and blind greed. Now they are talking of demolishing the building that houses the court of appeal to make way for an extension (apparently to house uber exclusive presidential suites) of the Hyatt Hotel (formely Kempinski) Now tell me what was wrong with that building!? It was just renovated not too long ago so It is in perfect shape so what is really the reason!? I see it as lack of respect and sensitivity to a people’s culture and history. Pretty soon we will not be able to recognize Dar because there will be nothing that makes it unique. And you can bet no tourist will come to see those monstrosities that are mushrooming all over town. And the locals will be even more stressed by all the problems that we are already facing with overcrowding city centre. It’s a scandal nakwambia!