NAIROBI, KENYA — 4 September 2026:
The Macondo Literary Festival has officially unveiled the theme for its sixth edition, “Ink, Sea, Silence,” setting the tone for a three-day celebration of literature, art, music and conversations exploring Africa’s histories and futures.
The theme was launched on Friday, 4 September 2026, at Maktaba Kuu (Kenya National Library Service), Upper Hill, Nairobi, bringing together writers, artists, cultural practitioners and literature enthusiasts ahead of the main festival scheduled for 18–20 September 2026 at the Kenya National Theatre.
The 2026 edition will examine the ways literature can reconnect communities with histories that have been displaced, forgotten or deliberately silenced, while creating space for conversations around cultural heritage, identity, memory and restitution.
A key highlight of the theme launch was a panel discussion titled “Silences of the Archive: Looted Worlds and the Politics of Absence.” The conversation was hosted by Mutanu Kyany’a of African Digital Heritage and featured poet, writer and filmmaker Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, alongside French art historian Bénédicte Savoy, a leading authority on the provenance and restitution of looted cultural heritage.
The panel explored the continued absence of African cultural heritage from the continent and the implications of having a significant proportion of Africa’s cultural artefacts housed in museums and collections outside the continent.
The discussion interrogated what restitution means today, who determines the rightful ownership and destination of cultural objects, and how the absence of these artefacts affects African communities’ ability to access, understand and preserve their own histories.
The conversation also examined the role of European museums in the preservation and display of African cultural heritage, as well as the growing international debate around the restitution of objects acquired during the colonial period.
Through “Ink, Sea, Silence,” Macondo seeks to create a platform where literature becomes a means of confronting historical silences, recovering overlooked narratives and imagining alternative futures.
The theme launch also featured an interactive history and literary quiz, with books awarded to participants, as well as music curated by Kiüri Mburathi, offering audiences a preview of the cultural experience that will define this year’s festival.
Macondo Literary Festival 2026
The main festival will take place from 18–20 September 2026 at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi.
The sixth edition will bring together 10 international authors from South America, India, Africa and its diasporas, alongside more than 20 Kenyan writers and artists.
Over three days, audiences will experience a diverse programme bringing together literature, music, food and art, while engaging with conversations on Africa’s past, present and future.
The festival will provide a platform for writers and audiences to explore the connections between history, identity, cultural heritage and storytelling, while strengthening literary and cultural exchange between Africa and the wider world.
“Ink, Sea, Silence” invites audiences to consider not only the stories that have been written, but also those that have been erased, displaced or left untold — and the power of literature to bring them back into the conversation.
