Interview with BIGSAS Junior Fellow Catheline Nyabwengi: Women as violent actors

Bayreuth was actually not the first address Lena had imagined for her Bachelor’s degree. But a few years later, the Hessin (Hessen is a federal state in Germany) can still be spotted in Upper Franconia. After her bachelor’s degree in African Languages, Literature and Art, she spent a good half year at the Goethe-Institut Nairobi and since 2010 she has been working at the Iwalewahaus which was founded by Ulli Beier in 1981. In her Master’s degree Culture and Society of Africa – with a focus on anthropology as well as art and curation – she was often the only student in her department. However, this did not dampen her motivation, because after an internship at the Landesmusikakademie in Berlin, where she organised the music festival ‘Klangwelten’, she returned to Bayreuth, to the archives of Ulli Beier. One of her bigger projects so far was to digitise the inheritance of the founder of the Iwalewahaus and prepare it for a transfer to Oshogbo. While for some people the scanning and sorting for hours sounds rather like a monotonous task, for Lena it was the “best job ever!”, because she was able to work intensively with original photographs. Following in the footsteps of Ulli Beier, she also got hold of material on Susanne Wenger, who is now a big part of her dissertation. 

After her employment with Iwalewahaus in 2016, she was offered a research fellow position (Volontariat combines practical and theoretical education/work) at the institution and was able to gain further practical experience as a curator. Since then she has been active in various positions. As a junior researcher she was part of the research project African Art History and the Formation of a Modern Aesthetic under the direction of Nadine Siegert and travelled to Nigeria for the first time.

“I was then at the ‘Sacred Grove’ of Oshogbo for the first time – and it blew me away, because the artist Susanne Wenger, who also had herself initiated as a Yoruba priestess, was active there. This encounter…, there are incredibly great sculptures, sculptures, shrines, which she has restored, with the New Sacred Art Movement… it was the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. It was really a spiritual experience”.

The doctoral student, who is doing her doctorate at the Iwalewahaus under the supervision of Dr. Ulf Vierke, discovered her passion for art right at the beginning of her studies at the University of Bayreuth and has continued and deepened it continuously. Since April 2019 she has been a Junior Fellow at BIGSAS.

Following the tracks of the New Sacred Art Movement 

It was in Nigeria that Lena came in touch with Susanne Wenger – the first wife of Ulli Beier and a well-known artist from Austria. Here she got to know the New Sacred Art Movement, an important art movement in Nigeria, which she wanted to study from a scientific perspective in the future. 

Although the trained curator loves her practical work in cultural and cultural-scientific institutions, she wanted to “enter into the scientific discourse”. This paved the way for her doctorate. For the Junior Fellow, it is important to discover what the art movement contributes to the canon formation of Nigerian modern art. Furthermore, Susanne Wenger, who emigrated to Nigeria as early as 1950 and worked as an artist there, is very much at the forefront of the movement. The Austrian not only founded the art movement there, but also had herself initiated as a Yoruba priestess. Lena’s emotion, ambition and eagerness of contributing to the scientific discourse and also of diverting attention away from the biography of an individual person (Susanne Wenger) can ultimately contribute to the historiography of Nigerian art. Although the doctoral student was still in Nigeria in February 2020 to hand over the inheritance of Ulli Beier, the Covid-19 pandemic did not leave her unaffected. Read here what she had originally planned. 

A Passion for Puppetry

Even though Bayreuth is a rather small town, Operla is (still) unknown to many residents. ‘Opera??? The ice cream spot next to the canal?’ – no ‘OPERla’, the small magical puppet theatre in the Steingräberpassage. For Lena it was a coincidence to discover the small theatre in 2014, where among others, operas by Richard Wagner are performed. Although the doctoral student already had a great affinity for theatre and was also actively involved in the international Atelier-Theater in Bayreuth, she had no experience whatsoever in puppetry. 

“I can really get enthusiastic quickly, and once again it was a lucky coincidence in my life, which also had a significant influence on me. I am not a Wagner fan, but I heard this music and then I saw the performance… it is amazing how you can ( display ) this mighty Wagner with these little puppets and everything is somehow so light and can be seen with a twinkling eye. I really liked the fact that this is followed with some seriousness, but just doesn’t take itself too seriously”.

Coincidence became enthusiasm and enthusiasm turned into passion. Lena was determined to learn the puppet theatre – one of the oldest arts – and learned her dexterity in workshops and through much rehearsal. In the meantime she has “played her way up”. In addition to her activities at Operla Lena produces a short version of the opera Hänsel und Gretel with her friend Steffen Riess, who is a producer and musician. The play is intended to be performed in kindergardens, schools or residential care facilities. The special feature: there is a mobile stage that can be driven and used anywhere. Although the puppet theatre is often seen as a niche, the response from the audience is always positive – a visit to the enchanting Operla is therefore definitely worthwhile. 

Another passion: art and music

The fact that art is a large part of Lena’s life becomes clear in numerous facets of her daily activities. Her many completed and active projects at the Iwalewahaus show that the curator makes herself quite indispensable. One of her projects deals with musical treasures from the Iwalewahaus archive. The ‘Music Archive Listening Session’ always takes place twice a semester. In addition, the ‘African Beat Night’ contributes to Bayreuth’s party scene. Both events are curated by Lena and her colleague Alexandra Kuhnke. 

Collaboration with international artists is very important to the doctoral student; Bayreuth offers plenty of space and numerous networks for this purpose. 

Currently Lena was able to organise an exhibition with artworks by Nuno Silas (here in an interview with Africa Multiple), Master student ‘African Visual and Verbal Arts’, at Atelier RW44 – one of the few art spaces in the city. At the vernissage on July 02, 2020, she emphasises the importance of art, especially in times of Covid-19, when the art and culture scene has to fight for survival in many respects. The exhibition ‘the intensity of identity’ curated by her can be visited until the end of September (opening hours will be announced on the usual channels).