‘Life between Ebb & Flow - Mangrove Ecologies’ is a residency and research project that enables a group of four artists from different disciplines with ties to Kenya or Switzerland to explore the topic of “mangrove ecologies” together through experimental research. The group of four, of which I am a member (together with Joseph Kamaru, David Njenga and Yassine Rachidi), is developing a collective programme that is shaped, on the one hand, by the two two-week research phases in Kenya and, on the other hand, by numerous online workshops on related topics.

The starting point was the special ecosystem of the mangrove forests that are widespread along the Kenyan coast. As mangroves grow at the interface between land and sea, they are vulnerable to the effects of climate change but also play an important role in mitigating it. They serve as a buffer against extreme weather events, prevent soil erosion, promote marine organisms and support aquaculture.

In Lamu, a historic settlement in the north of the coastal region, mangroves are of great importance as a basis for life and influence local myths and rituals, tourism and the economy. In the context of the residency, they become a metaphor for imagining the relationships and coexistence of different species in the future. The results of our collective research were shown in Kenya in March 2025 and in Switzerland in the summer.

The project was a collaboration between kuchanua, Planisphere and the Lamu Youth Alliance. Cora supported the project in an advisory capacity, with Critical Urbanisms at the University of Basel and EPFL+ECAL Lab as research partners.