Picha Mtaani

Picha Mtaani is a Swahili phrase meaning street photo gallery. Established in 2009 and later registered in 2009, the initiative’s main focus is peace building and national reconciliation through photography and involvement of young people in Kenya. The initiative was set up by the Award winning photographer, Boniface Mwangi. Picha Mtaani was established as an avenue through which individuals would contribute to peace building and national reconciliation efforts led by citizens, particularly by young people after the post election violence experience in Kenya in 2008. Picha Mtaani has taken the initiative to create safe spaces for reflection and dialogue among Kenyans (victims, perpetrators and host communities alike) through facilitated discussions; these have revealed a deep sense of regret among Kenyans and shown that wounds are still fresh especially among the target group (youth). The rationale behind Picha Mtaani’s involvement of the youth is the importance of capturing young peoples’ potential and invaluable contributions to community and national development. Secondly, the youth were used to instigate and propagate violence: Involving them in the reconciliation process builds on the importance of dialogue towards healing, reconciliation and reconstruction. Picha Mtaani’s overall objective is to establish projects that use photography as catalyst for social change focusing on: