About The Speaker
Ogutu J. Muraya
Participating Artists
Ogutu Muraya is a writer and dramatist whose work is embedded in the practice of orature. His art seeks new forms of storytelling in which socio-political aspects merge with the belief that art is an important catalyst for questioning ineluctable Facts. He studied international relations at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi/Kenya and graduated from the Academy of Theater and Dance at the University of the Arts in Amsterdam/Netherlands with an MA in 2016. He has been published in […]
Ogutu Muraya is a writer and dramatist whose work is embedded in the practice of
orature. His art seeks new forms of storytelling in which socio-political aspects
merge with the belief that art is an important catalyst for questioning ineluctable
Facts. He studied international relations at the United States International University-Africa
in Nairobi/Kenya and graduated from the Academy of Theater and Dance at the
University of the Arts in Amsterdam/Netherlands with an MA in 2016. He has been
published in the Kwani? Journal, Chimurenga Chronic, Rekto:Verso, Etcetera Magazine and NT Gent’s The Golden Book series, among others. His performative works and storytelling have been featured in several theatre performances and festivals including La MaMa (NYC/USA), Hay Festival (Wales/UK), HIFA (Harare/Zimbabwe), SICK! Festival (Manchester/UK), Ranga Shankara, (Bangalore/India), Afrovibes Festival (Amsterdam), SPIELART Theaterfestival (Munich/Germany), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Zurich/Switzerland), Festival Theaterformen (Brunswick/Germany), Theater is A Must Forum (Alexandria/Egypt), Theater Commons Tokyo (Tokyo/Japan) and within East Africa.
Ogutu is based in Malindi, Kenya where he continues his artistic practice through his
company Studio Panda-Shuka. He has taught part-time at the Department of Film
and Performing Arts at KCA University and is also the founder of Maabara Atelier.
Synopsis:
Because I Always Feel Like Running (Kenya)
Because I Always Feel Like Running is a lecture performance by the Kenyan writer and
theatre maker Ogutu J. Muraya. As he tells his story, he makes his way through the history of running, as it has caused a furor from Africa in the West since the 1960s. He tells stories of famous men like Abebe Bikila, who won two Olympics for Ethiopia in the marathon in 1960 and 1964, and John Stephen Akhwari, who dislocated his knee and shoulder after a fall in
- But the pain, perseverance and tenacity Muraya describes are about much more. The
rise of long-distance runners coincides with processes of decolonization and the emergence
of independent states in East Africa.