Adorned Memory by Khanya Mthethwa
A S+T+ARTS Afropean Intelligence Residency.
Challenge “Archives and Memory”
Host institution
B’sarya for Arts, Alexandria (EG)
European partner
CHRONIQUES, Marseille (FR)
The project “Adorned Memory” explores Egyptian indigenous adornment practices as living archives of memory and identity. It focuses on how these traditions, often excluded from formal records, can be preserved and honored through contemporary artistic practices. The residency involves creating jewellery and an immersive installation that integrates audio, visual, and tactile elements to engage audiences with indigenous Egyptian culture.
The artist
Khanya Mthethwa
Dr Khanya Mthethwa is a South African multidisciplinary artist and researcher whose work explores adornment, indigenous knowledge, and memory. With a background in jewellery and a PhD in Art History, she merges oral storytelling, speculative design, and digital tools to reimagine how archives live through the body.
+ Instagram
Want to dive deeper?
Listen to the associated S+T+ARTS Afropean Intelligence Voices Podcast Episode
[“Stolen Artifacts: Physical & Virtual Restitutions?”].
_on Afripods
_on YouTube
& Check-out the other selected projects for the Afropean Intelligence Residency Program:
+ Challenge 1: Intercultural AI: Weaving Worlds through Art and Algorithms | “Untangler: Worlds Reimagined” – Peace Olatunji
+ Challenge 1bis: “Decoding Egwu: reclaiming indigenous intelligence through AI, dance and Igbo” – Emmanuel Ndefo & Dan Xu
+ Challenge 3: Plural Computation | “The Affogbolo’s Home” – Pierre-Christophe Gam
+ Challenge 4: Psychogeography and the Influence of AI | “Bursting the last bubble” – Tamer Elshabrawy
+ Challenge 6: ZaZi: An African Educational AI Model | “LORAS AS AN ARCHIVE – A LIVING ARCHIVE” – Evans Akanyijuka
+ Challenge 7: Beyond Borders: AI, Climate, and Resource Justice in Africa | “Cry To The Water” – Chipo Mapondera
+ Challenge 8: Digital Lukasa: An Intelligent Archival Tablet | “The Memory Performer: digital reincarnation of Luba wisdom” – Mahoutondji Kinmagbo
+ Challenge 9: Provenance and Social Memory | “TERRITOIRE TISSé: Art Royal Kuba entre tradition et (R)évolution” – Melisa Kayowa
+ Afropean Intelligence is bringing together 10 cultural organizations across Africa and Europe:
