Kutimba With Siima

Siima Itabaaza

"Kutimba" is a word from Runyankole, one of the languages spoken in Uganda, that literally translates to "dig up" and means to delve deeper into something. In this interview series, I sit down with guests to dissect either an aspect of their work or an issue within the global cultural, social and political realms.

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Top 10 Kutimba With Siima Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Kutimba With Siima episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Kutimba With Siima for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Kutimba With Siima episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

James Barnor: The Photographer Who Captured Six Decades of Change

Kutimba With Siima

06/17/24 • 46 min

On June 6th, 2024, James Barnor celebrated his 95th birthday! This pioneering Ghanaian-British photographer is known for his work in photojournalism and studio portraiture. He was Ghana’s first newspaper photographer and the visionary behind the country’s first color processing lab. Barnor’s photographs document life in Ghana as the nation transitioned to independence.

In the 1970s, Barnor moved to London, where he captured the multiplicity of Black diasporan life. As a freelance photographer for Drum magazine, Barnor shot covers, fashion editorials, and current events.

In 2021, I spoke with Barnor during his first retrospective at the Serpentine Gallery in London. Our conversation explored various aspects of his life and career. We discussed his experiences in teaching and police photography and how his family played a pivotal role in shaping his career as a photographer. Barnor shared anecdotes about his encounters with Ghana's first Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah, the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, and Ghanian Opposition Leader J.B Danquah.

Subscribe to the Kutimba With Siima newsletter to hear Barnor discuss his favourite photograph.

Host: Siima Itabaaza

Guest: James Barnor

Story editing and advising: Allison Behringer of Rough Cut Collective

Email: [email protected]

IG: @kutimbawithsiima

The African Lookbook with Catherine E. McKinley

Kutimba With Siima

10/28/23 • 50 min

Today's guest is Catherine E. Mckinley, a curator and author of four critically acclaimed books, most recently The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women , which won the inaugural Eiger Foundation Prize for Best African Photobook. An exploration of Africa's photographic history, fashion, trade history, and African women's selfhood, the book features works from The McKinley Collection, her personal archive representing African photographies from 1870 to the present. Works from The McKinley Collection have been shown in international museums and galleries. She lives in New York City.

Catherine and I spoke about building the McKinley collection, clothes as monuments, how her work on textile traditions informed the compilation of the book, the impact of the camera and sewing machine on Africa's cultural and economic landscapes, the place of African Women in the archive and more.

Host: ⁠Siima Itabaaza⁠

Editing: ⁠Wana Benjamin⁠

IG: ⁠@kutimbawithsiima⁠

Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/KutimbaWithSiima⁠

Email: [email protected]

Africa Fashion at The Brooklyn Museum with Ifeanyi Awachie

Kutimba With Siima

10/13/23 • 78 min

Welcome to Kutimba With Siima!

In the Premiere Episode, I'm joined by Ifeanyi Awachie to review the landmark Africa Fashion exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Ifeanyi is a Nigeria-born, Atlanta-raised writer, curator, filmmaker, and scholar.

Africa Fashion is the largest-ever exhibition charting the global impact of African fashions from the 1950s to date. The exhibition, first shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London last year, features over forty designers and artists from Africa and its diasporas. Over 180 items, including garments, sketches, catwalk footage and music, depict how Africa’s influential sartorial language has been crafted.

We discuss how we felt about certain curatorial decisions, what we enjoyed and disliked, what we would have done differently, the legacies of the exhibition and more.

Host: Siima Itabaaza

Editing: Wana Benjamin

IG: @kutimbawithsiima

Patreon: patreon.com/KutimbaWithSiima

Email: [email protected]

How Gospel Music Influenced Brandy's "Full Moon" album with Mel Smith

Kutimba With Siima

03/12/24 • 39 min

This year marks the 22nd anniversary of Brandy's iconic album, Full Moon ,! Her mesmerizing vocal runs and innovative vocal stacking on the album revolutionized vocal arrangement, earning her the moniker, "The Vocal Bible."

I'm joined by award-winning songwriter, producer, culture journalist, music historian, and music executive, Mel Smith, to delve into the influence of gospel music on both the vocals and production of Full Moon. We discuss how gospel singer Kim Burrell's Everlasting Life album impacted Brandy's vocal evolution and expanded her vocal range. Additionally, we explore how producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, incorporates elements from the church into the album's production, the pivotal role of LaShawn Daniels in the vocal production process, and how Full Moon transformed the gospel music genre. Lastly, we talk about why Full Moon is an afro-futuristic work.

Host: Siima Itabaaza

Guest: Mel Smith

Newsletter: https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/

Email: [email protected]

IG: @kutimbawithsiima

Building an Art Collection that Reflects My Values with Winnie Byanyima

Kutimba With Siima

02/08/24 • 75 min

I am thrilled to kick off Season Two with Winnie Byanyima! She is widely recognised for her tireless advocacy for social justice and gender equality. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of UNAIDS.

We shift focus from her professional endeavours to explore one of her deepest passions – art. For the first time, Winnie opens up about her profound love for art and building her remarkable collection. She recounts her initial encounters with art, underscoring its role in expressing her African identity. Winnie tells me about unlearning Eurocentric notions about art and the notable artists represented in her collection. She leaves us with invaluable advice about collecting art.

Host: Siima Itabaaza

Editing: Wana Benjamin

Newsletter: https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/

Email: [email protected]

IG: @kutimbawithsiima

On the 'Grandma Rule', Hyper-masculinity in food and the Delights of plant-based cooking with Alicia Kennedy

Kutimba With Siima

12/22/23 • 35 min

In the season finale, I am joined by Alicia Kennedy, a food and culture writer from New York. She is the creator of From The Desk of Alicia Kennedy , a weekly newsletter covering food culture, media, and politics. Alicia's first book, titled No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating , was released in August 2023.

During our discussion, we dissect On the 'Grandma Rule, a newsletter edition in which Alicia utilises the late chef Anthony Bourdain’s concept of the Grandma Rule to explore topics such as culinary tourism, food media, and personal choices regarding food.

Alicia and I delve into navigating projections from omnivores, abstaining from cooking as a form of protest against patriarchy, the ways plant-based eating has enhanced her culinary skills, and the prevailing dominance of restaurant chefs as arbiters of food trends.

Papermaking and Materials as Witnesses with Kelly Taylor Mitchell

Kutimba With Siima

12/09/23 • 42 min

Kelly Taylor Mitchell is an artist and educator living and working in Atlanta, GA. Her multidisciplinary practice centers oral history and ancestral memory, real and imagined, woven into the fabric of the Africana Diaspora. Kelly's work is deeply invested in labor intensive making, slowness, and home-spun passed down processes.

We discussed how she conceptualizes and creates her pieces, the significance of food and materials, and rooting her artistic practice in celebration and joy.

Host: ⁠⁠Siima Itabaaza⁠⁠

Editing: ⁠⁠Wana Benjamin⁠⁠

IG: ⁠⁠@kutimbawithsiima⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/KutimbaWithSiima⁠⁠

Dieu Donné: https://www.dieudonne.org/

How Music and Dance Influence Claudette Johnson

Kutimba With Siima

06/28/24 • 26 min

Claudette Johnson is a leading figurative artist based in London. Her large-scale works challenge the erasure and misrepresentations of Black subjects, particularly Black women. In the 1980s, she co-founded the BLK Art Group, a collective of young Black artists who explored race, gender, and the politics of representation. In 1982, the BLK Art Group organized the First National Black Art Convention at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. Johnson's lecture on the portrayal of Black female figures in Western art, the only presentation by a female artist, was a pivotal moment that propelled the Black feminist art movement in the UK.

Music and dance have always been integral to Johnson's practice as inspiration and subject matter. She discusses the impact of jazz and Miles Davis’ "Kind Of Blue" on her art. Johnson fondly recalls how the dance parties she attended growing up were a source of joy and affirmed her Afro-Carribean identity. She also explains the recurring use of blue in her works.

Subscribe to the Kutimba With Siima newsletter for a playlist inspired by Johnson and current exhibition listings.

Host: Siima Itabaaza

Guest: Claudette Johnson

Story editing and advising: Allison Behringer of Rough Cut Collective

Email: [email protected]

IG: @kutimbawithsiima

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