Different people. Shared purpose.

Ajwang and I worked together on “The Power of the Pitch,” an event organized by the Falling Walls Engage Hub Canada in May 2023. This two-day workshop definitely ranks among my proudest professional accomplishments. And that is in large part due to Ajwang’s contributions.

Co-designed by the two of us, “The Power of the Pitch” brought together more than 30 science engagement practitioners from across Canada as well as from Germany and Japan. Without Ajwang’s encouragement, confidence and, frankly, fearlessness, I doubt the Hub would have attempted such an ambitious event.

In retrospect, I clearly see Ajwang’s leadership reflected in the practical nature of the workshop. At every stage of development, Ajwang put forth creative ideas to make our colleagues feel more comfortable, connected, and challenged. She saw important details I would never have considered. And she constantly emphasized the need to provide the participants with concrete, immediately applicable skills and strategies.

Thanks to her deep understanding of international organizations and their processes, the science engagers in attendance had the invaluable opportunity to ask questions directly to funders — an experience that post-event surveys showed had a profound effect on many of the participants.

It’s been more than three years since the event took place, and occasionally I still hear from attendees who share the lessons they took away and continue to apply to their own practice.

Here are my reflections from our days of Bintimaji and the Ocean eight years ago. I learnt that you identify opportunities and go after them. To be honest, my career in animation was birthed from the Bintimaji project. I got to see something that you had seen, stop-motion, a lost art form, new and not popular in Kenya, but you still chose to commission a film from us.

From that same experience, I learnt that you will protect your craft and the products that emerge from your effort. You make sure things are done through your amazing organisational skills, following up with me even when I am difficult to reach. You will make sure to get a deadline from me.

You ensure all participating parties are well taken care of and this is me thinking about the Science-Art School programme. You would finance the trip, even out of pocket at times, just to make sure that everyone feels comfortable. That also speaks to your ability to mobilise resources, not only from close networks but also from far and wide.

Most importantly, I learnt that you would not do something if it does not achieve a purpose and have greater meaning or value to everyone who is participating. Case in point, the KMFRI project.

Having worked with Stephanie for seven years now, I feel incredibly grateful to have her as both a companion and a champion for the intersection of science and art, and for the ways in which these two disciplines can seamlessly come together. Our collaborations have spanned working with artists, scientists, and schoolchildren, always exploring new ways of communicating ideas through creativity.

Our official partnership began with what I would describe as an incredibly ambitious challenge: a short stop-motion film intended to create awareness around ocean pollution. What began as a relatively focused project ultimately became our studio’s first long-form animated project. The process was deeply informed by Stephanie’s research and, more importantly, by her approach to translating seemingly complex scientific data and research into language and ideas that could be accessed by a wider audience.

Working with a scientist like Stephanie was incredibly refreshing. She was gracious enough to trust us with the artistic narrative while providing clear scientific direction. She welcomed us into her world with thoughtfulness and sincerity, while also understanding and respecting our capabilities as artists and storytellers. That trust allowed us to find a meaningful balance between scientific accuracy and creative expression.

Another particularly notable collaboration was Stephanie’s invitation for us to become collaborators in the Science-Art Club, a first of its kind programme. It was a unique initiative that brought us together with a cohort of primary school pupils over the course of an entire year. The students were introduced to scientific concepts and then encouraged to explore and communicate those ideas through art and stop-motion animation. The programme culminated in a short animated film made entirely by the students, a remarkable achievement and, to our knowledge, a first of its kind in Kenya.

Having Stephanie as a partner and collaborator across these different projects and capacities has opened my artistic practice to new audiences and possibilities. I think it took a passionate scientist like Stephanie to show us that this kind of collaboration was not only possible, but could also be incredibly exciting. She has helped us see science as another creative language, and shown us how art can become a powerful way of making scientific knowledge more accessible, engaging, and human.