“Sometimes you got to create what you want to be part of.” –Geri Weitzman
This statement rings extremely true for Simalike Musika, founder of the Chatafisha Project. By integrating public art with technology, the Chatafisha project seeks to alter how the urban community engages with its environments. Through the use of Augmented Reality and blockchaintechnology, the Tanzanian Urban community can get to experience living in a “smart city”.
‘Chatafisha’ is derived from two Swahili words: CHATA, which means a mark and symbolizes the artistic medium; and SAFISHA, which means to clean and symbolizes metamorphosis.
Tanzania’s Dar-es-Salaam is a vibrant fast growing city with a number of ongoing construction projects. Dar-es-Salaam is a city that recounts the tale of a rich history, founded by the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1862 who famously named it Mzizima, it is a rapidly growing center for economic activity, the 5th in Africa and is predicted to cross the “Megacity” threshold (10million people) before 2030. From the bustling street life of the Machingas (“marching guys” or street merchants) to the heavily packed Daladalas (buses) and old coastal style architecture in down-town Posta or Kariakoo. Urban tales containing revolutionary names such as Malcom X and Che Guavaraneed to be remembered and revisited. The Chatafisha project aims to utilize and deploy public art as a medium of story-telling to spark dialogue in a more engaging, vibrant and innovative way and encourage interactivity in the Urban space.
Simalike and I had the opportunity to speak for a bit so that I could learn more about him and the Chatafisha Project.
The Tanzanian Times (TT): How did you come up with the Chatafisha project?
Simalike Musika (SM): The idea for the project was originally to give kids a place to skate and interact. Urban culture, and notably skateboarding, has always been very much to my taste. My good friend Alphonce and I used to skate at a skate park called Funkys in Masaki, where he used to work. I loved everything about skate culture, even the style and music. We used to meet with other kids to skate by the Morocco bus stop, so we thought it would be really cool to build a space where we could all skate, do graffiti, maybe even have a basketball court. A location where they can develop their artistic side and learn how to draw graffiti. The basic goal of the Chatafisha project is still to develop integrating spaces for urban dwellers. A setting that promotes integration.
TT: How long has it been in the works?
SM: From when I was in college, around 2014 to this day.
TT: What is the selection process for the artists?
SM: There will be a visual preference survey where we will document and interview the community in the targeted area to give them a voice and document their stories in order to integrate it through code in the Artwork. We aim to work with top notch talent and our art is meant to be not only site specific, but also interactive, therefore the artneeds to reflect the spirit of these areas. So, if we are to paint a mural in Morocco Bus Station, for example, we’d like the mural to reflect the environment of buses passing by and heavy traffic. After the creation the art shall go up on sale as an NFT, on the blockchain.
TT: The Rangi Chanya Festival. Can you tell me a little about that?
SM: This is actually how the project is being carried out. After the survey, the creation will commence in the form of a public exhibition we call it Rangi Chanya festival (Rangi Chanya means “positive colors”). This event will include a selling component. Vendors, are welcome to set up a booth and sell their artwork. This festival is intended to serve as a Mural exhibition and a chance for the community to engage and experience the creative process and learn about the application of AR, VR and QR technology. Later this year, the inaugural Rangi Chanya event is scheduled to take place.
TT: Are you an artist yourself?
SM: I am a multidisciplinary artist. I adore visual art. I can write rhymes. I can curate, conceptualize and produce for entire bodies of work, like I did with my most recent album, “Heaven is now,” in addition to directing music videos and short films. I am about to begin work on a feature film’s soundtrack. I am a voice actor and have done several voice-over work, for NGOs and corporates. I am alsoabout to dabble in some acting and fashion designing. I want to start a collection with a partner. These to me are all various aspects of visual art, which is something that I’m quite passionate about.
TT: How do you intend on overcoming the challenge of lack of knowledge when it comes to technology?
SM: Technology is part and parcel of our lives nowadays. With regard to NFTs and AR, our goal is to have a provision for workshops to educate the artists on potentials that exist in the tech world. We want to provide them with opportunity to go beyond the traditional boundaries of public art such as its ephemeral nature through block chain technology. Technology could serve as a platform for the storage, transferring of information in a safe and transparent way. Working with our strategic partners in the AR industry to educate the public and give them a chance to experience this new technology first hand. In addition to serving as a platform for artistic expression, Chatafisha also serves as an introduction to Web3 technology.
TT: What excites you most about this project?
SM: The fact that this concept offers the ideal solution to the issue of excessive advertising in the city of Dar is what intrigues me the most about it. I believe that artists should be paid to display their skills and originality, rather than just getting paid to paint various corporations’ logos on the sides of houses. We wanted to have Art with minimal external corporate branding but business organizations will always seek for visibility, subsequently this would not be impactful if not counterproductive. With AR technology, we can now satisfy the need for branding, transferring and storage of information for educational or social purposes, while maintaining the integrity of the artwork. Digital coding is a viable option for storing all required data. This is art that speaks… art that comes to life.
TT: Is the Chatafisha project supposed to be an ongoing project? If so, what cities are you kicking off the project in?
SM: This is definitely going to be an ongoing project. We plan on being the entity that not only draws murals butdevelops and encourages for more integrative spaces as it pertains to the public art scene. It will start at home in Dar es Salaam and slowly move into different cities throughout Tanzania.
TT: Have there been any challenges experienced throughout this entire project?
SM: The biggest challenge has been building a solid team that is as passionate about transforming public spaces and who are also interested in technology and its prospects in creating a more sustainable city. The accessing of funds has also been another challenge that the recent developments of Web3 promises to solve. People are more excited to hop on this project because of that.
To keep up with all things #CHATAFISHA, be sure to follow them on Discord:
Instagram:@chatafisha_tz
Twitter:@chatafisha
Discord:CHATAFiSHA https://discord.gg/98mpNuxq
The Tanzanian Times 