This T shirt was produced to mark the 10th anniversary of the campaign to save Jeevanjee Gardens, a public park in Nairobi. The Gardens were founded and donated to the people of Nairobi by Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, an Indian born entrepreneur. When the park’s future was threatened with sale to developers in 1991, Jeevanjee’s descendents, including granddaughter Zarina Patel, successfully campaigned and saved the park for future generations. Acquired from Zarina Patel and Zahid Rajan, Kenyan social and political activists who produce and collect ‘protest’ or ‘struggle’ T shirts. Zahid states ‘[The Gardens] had a chequered career owing to Jeevanjee’s struggle against colonialism and the post-independence suppression of our patriotic history…[Zarina’s] goal is to upgrade it with community participation to a lively functional space which families can use for recreation and entertainment…’ Collected as part of the Fashioning Africa project.
Place: Kenya, East Africa, Africa
Date: 2001