Makueni Futures

Makueni Futures

From June 25 to Jun 30, 2023, Dr. Patrick Owuor and Xitlaly Garcia Olivera, working closely with Greg Niemeyer, presented a series of artworks in Wote, Kenya, about the possible futures awaiting the community of Makueni County in the context of the construction and operation of the new Thwake Megadam. The project dams two rivers, the Ahti and the Thwake River, at their point of confluence. Projected benefits include a 20 MW hydroelectric power plant as well as irrigation for large plantations. Currently, the semi-arid area is cultivated by land-owning farmers living in villages and small towns. The construction of the dam displaces many of these farmers because of flooding or lack of access to water post-construction. Niemeyer and Owuor studied the dam construction site and the surrounding community in the summer of 2022 and planned to bring their observations back to the community in the summer of 2023. 

Niemeyer could not travel to Wote, but prepared the artwork for Owuor and Garcia Olivera to present to the community in Wote, the capital of Makueni County.

The presentation site was the Wote Green Public Park. The presentation included 8 large photo backgrounds. The photo backgrounds showed illustrations of possible futures for the community based on photographs, interviews and analyses of anticipated benefits and unintended side effects of the dam. The images were rendered in anime style, which already was used at the Wote Green Public Park to illustrate local historical figures. The photo backgrounds were mounted on stands, so visitors could place themselves in the future scenes and photograph themselves.