To Have and to Hold

To Have and To Hold is the theme of the 6th edition of KAFART. This year, we reflect on what we choose to hold, what we let go, and the cost of holding on, within our histories, our cultures, and our societies. We ask: what endures in the face of erasure and forgetting?

As a continent, our lived experiences and historical narratives continue to shape what we carry into the present and what we pass on to the future. In a fast-moving, hyper-globalized world, where identities constantly shift, we question: what defines us today? What do we negotiate for survival in foreign lands? How did we hold each other before moments of crisis, and how do we hold one another in their aftermath?

In times where connections are fragile, we seek to reflect on the communal practices that once bound us, and the gatherings that continue to bring us together.

To Have and To Hold will deepen reflections on: what is truly ours? How do we reconcile divisions? What was brought and later claimed as our own? How do we reclaim what rightfully belongs to us? To Have and To Hold invites us to confront questions of belonging and ownership — what belongs to whom, and who has the right to claim it.

This edition of KAFART explores how contemporary art and fashion engage these pressing questions and serve as vessels of personal and collective memory and resistance. Through this gathering, we will make space where forgotten histories and fading legacies are re-centered.