On 20th June 2024, Sharon Liboi and I found ourselves in the middle of the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests. All around us, there was smoke. Revolution was in the air and so was the teargas that stung our eyes. We, like the rest of the youth around us, were there to protest the outrageous Finance Bill by the government. We were also there to talk about “Whispers Of Power” – a multidisciplinary concept show organised by Sharon Liboi, Maulid Owino and Wakio Mzenge.
Ironically, this was the environment we found ourselves in as we talked about the show. According to Liboi, the idea started when she attended auditions in Ardhi Gallery in 2023 under the theme of Safety and Security. The artists’ work in the audition was to explore what safety and security meant to them as Kenyan creatives. Just as Liboi started to talk about her approach to the issue, the police released another teargas and we joined the protesting crowd as we ran for our safety.
For Liboi, who is a Nairobi-based African contemporary musician and Kalimba player, the theme of Safety and Security digs deeper than just the outside perception of physical security.
“I wanted to challenge that thinking because I think we give so much power to the people around us to make us feel safe and secure. But most times it’s not about them, it’s up to us. I believe the situations in the real world are only a reflection of who we are within. If we are chaotic human beings, we are going to translate this to one another, our environment and the world in general. The idea, therefore, is not to tell someone to have ten bodyguards, but for them to dig deeper and identify the root cause of their insecurities.”
This is the sentiment she went in with to the auditions and because she wanted the show to be something different from what she had done before, she approached Maulid Owino to collaborate with her. Maulid is a dancer, a movement artist and choreographer, and in Liboi’s words, an exemplary creative.
They went in, auditioned, and their piece stood out because it was the only one that explored the inner security aspect of Safety and Security. The result of that was Whispers Of Power which was first staged in Ardhi Gallery in October 2023.
Following the success and positive reviews from creatives about the show, Liboi and her team received support from The French Embassy under the Creation Africa Project to take it on tour around different cities in the country, including Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu. I had the privilege to attend the Nairobi show, held in Sarakasi Dome on 8th June 2024.
Finding your whisper of power
From the moment the show started, I knew that Whispers of Power was going to be unlike anything I’ve experienced. The first scene set before us, as we stood on the Sarakasi ground floor, was that of an aerialist gliding down towards us, which was a cause of much excitement. But we were just getting started.
What followed when we entered the auditorium was much more than a performance. The moment we found our seats, Wakio Mzenge, a poet, storyteller, actor and one of the main collaborators of Whispers of Power, nearly gave us a heart attack as she started her narration of a lost character.
It all went uphill from there. From aerialists dangling on silk ropes from the high roof of the auditorium to Wakio’s storytelling that involved participation from the audience that had us moving from one point of the space to another as instructed, the show became a truly immersive experience. To top it all off, Liboi’s distinctive singing together with her band offered a perfect background ensemble.
The combination of music, poetry, storytelling and visual arts imagery was commendable, to say the least. And the idea of fully immersing the audience in the experience was out of this world. According to Liboi, who is an active advocate for mental health, the purpose of the immersive experience was to bring the mental health conversation closer to home.
“I feel that mental health affects everyone, and people do not even realise it. Everything we do is a direct reflection of what goes on inside. With Whispers of Power, I wanted to talk about mental health more, but using a different approach. I wanted to have an event where music integrates with other forms of art and still holds that space where the audience can immerse themselves in the experience and be able to not only reflect but also be active participants. In a way, the purpose was to challenge the traditional way of entertaining and educating people.”
Once she had this idea and had approached both Wakio and Maulid with it, they set out to work on the storyline. The concept of the entire show was to tell different stories in line with the theme of safety and security with regards to mental health with Liboi’s songs as the backbone tying it all together.
“I sat down and listed all my songs, and wrote all the lyrics to each one of them down. Once I did that, I was able to know what the story I wanted to tell was. The story was that I was taking people through a journey of self-discovery. I wanted to show them what safety and security truly mean beyond the external expectations we have of those around us. So it was more of exploring what is deep inside us and in the process of exploring, you find your power.”
What started as an idea for an audition fully morphed into something magnificent. They did their first show in October 2023 at Ardhi Gallery, which fully focused on mental health. After getting support from Hii Stage under the Creation Africa-Kenya project, they were able to take Whispers of Power on tour.
Every space holds a meaning
The first stop on the tour was Kisumu, where the show was held on 24th May 2024 at Dunga Hill Camp. The second stop was Nairobi, Sarakasi Dome, held on 8th June 2024. The third show is upcoming and will be held in Mombasa.
But the beauty of Whispers Of Power lies in the fact that it’s a multidisciplinary site-specific performance. What this means is that the story of the show changes every time depending on the location and the socio-economic issues affecting it.
The performance in Kisumu, for example, addressed the issue of climate change and how it was affecting the mental health of the residents of Kisumu. In the Nairobi show, Liboi and her team tweaked the story to fit a new narrative about the pressures facing Kenyan creatives as this is a current issue in Nairobi.
The reason for this, according to Liboi, is that every space holds its own different meaning. What we, as human beings, do in a particular space has more impact than the physical aspect of the space itself. Spaces have their own power, and Liboi and her team realised that the more they learnt about the space, the more their story changed and developed.
What stood out even more for Liboi as she continued working with the team was how important the power of collaboration is. Including Liboi, Wakio and Maulid, Whispers Of Power has a team of twelve creatives from a fashion designer, the marketing team, to the aerialists and the band.
“I know I could work alone very well, but what this show made me realise is that there is power in collaboration. The secret to this life is working with other people and I am so grateful for the team we have in Whispers Of Power. I cannot take all the credit for this show alone because it was truly a team effort with all the creatives I have partnered with.”
With that message, my interview with Liboi came to an end. Around us, the protests were still ongoing and as we ran from yet another teargas fiasco, we laughed and commented about what a great time to be alive it was. I know we were talking about the protests, but deep down, I also thought about how great it was that I got to interview the amazingly talented Liboi at a time like this.
