Koko'TEN: David Against Goljat

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Koko’TEN. Get into the flow. Take a walk. Feel the atmosphere; use your head and eyes. Read the signs, the streets and the people. What is that we need over here? What can we do about it? Then go back to your studio, sit down again and start painting.

Lushoto. A small Tanzanian city located in the middle of the Usambara Mountains right next to the border of Kenya. You can’t see the city from the ground. We are hidden in the mountains between the earth and the sky. There’s only one way to get in and only one way to return.

Koko’TEN was founded in 2011 by a well-known Tanzanian artist Gadi Ramadhani. The basic idea behind the Koko’TEN is to gather artists from all over together and support young people to start thinking via artistic point of view. The target is set to improve not only Tanzanian art scene but the whole East African cultural life.

Lushoto itself is a small mountain town where lives approximately 30000 people. It’s basically one of the main tourist places as it is located on the way from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro. The nature, mountains and viewpoints makes this city as interesting and fascinating as it is.

The local population is a combine of all kinds of Tanzanians living in the same area. Old people wearing traditional East African “kanga” clothes as in the same view of the street there are young people wearing skinny jeans and carrying their Beats By Dr. Dres.

The inspiring combine of modern life style and traditional African habits made Ramadhani to start playing his game in this field. Getting the art, print making, music, movies and everything outside of the Dar Es Salaam.

And even it is a David fighting against Goljat, Koko’TEN is ready to take involve with this battle. Actually it has been ready for a while and will be ready for long time.

Petrus Koskimies