As Pride Month begins, we're celebrating the life and legacy of Kenyan artist Kawira Mwirichia (1986–2020) and her project To Revolutionary Type Love.
The project was inspired, in part, by a wedding Kawira attended in 2013. According to the bride's cultural tradition, the groom's family came to collect her from her family home and escort her to her new one. As they led her out of the house, kangas were laid on the ground for her to walk across while family members sang and welcomed her into her new family.
The gesture stayed with Kawira. Reflecting on the experience in a 2017 interview with WePresent, she said:
“I realised it’s something that may not happen for many queer people in Kenyan society, that open gesture of welcome. That really moved me, so I wanted to use the medium of the khanga to celebrate our love.”
Launched in 2016, To Revolutionary Type Love was Kawira's vision for a series of kangas celebrating queer love around the world. Each design was centred on a different country and incorporated a love quote alongside references to queer histories, communities, and movements.
Through open calls, members of Kenya's queer community were invited to contribute love quotes for To Revolutionary Type Love. Contributors submitted #KangaLove and #KangaSass messages that would later become part of Kawira Mwirichia's kangas.
In May 2017, To Revolutionary Type Love was first exhibited at the Goethe-Institut Nairobi. The exhibition brought together the kangas in a celebration of queer love and community, with visitors gathering to view the works and share in the spirit of #KangaLove. A video documenting the exhibition captures the atmosphere of the event and includes Kawira reflecting on the series' story and intention.
For lovers of kanga culture, To Revolutionary Type Love is a reminder of the stories, histories, and communities a kanga can carry. Inspired by a wedding tradition that celebrates welcome and belonging, Kawira's work imagined new ways of welcoming, affirming, and celebrating love. For Kawira, it was, in her own words, "essentially an act of love".