Why do we think like we think? For All put it’s focus on the people hidden inside statistics – and to the stories behind their opinions. The 100 people in the art piece forms a cross-section of the Finnish population in terms of gender, age, region, education, level of income, country of origin and mother […]
ENG: Collective Mindscape is an interactive digital art work by Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, commissioned by the cancer department of Siltasairaala -hospital, HUS. Collective Mindscape combines the inner places of eight people into one open world. When walking through the world, one can discover the participants’ virtual sanctuaries, but also more challenging landscapes reflecting their experiences of living with […]
ENG: Final Scenes of Disaster Movies -project looks forward your input! Please send us ideas of what could happen in the end of an imaginary disaster movie of your choice. The scenes have to take place at Helsinki’s Kansalaistori. We also look for volunteering actors for the film shootings, which happen in the end of […]
The Theory Show, OCTOBER 22, 2022, 4PM at ASC Gallery JOKAklubi has invited artists Adrian Lee, Chrissie Tiller,Harriet Hill, Lynn Lu and David Sherry to share their theories about anything: Surprising ambiences, perspectives and approaches are created as the performers step into the absurd stage of JOKAklubi. We Were Made in the Dark-exhibition 21st October-4th November 2022 at ASC Gallery The performance is […]
Olento Orchestral’s debut record Anatomia was released 26 August! You can listen it in all the streaming platforms, or buy the digital tracks or the vinyl from bandcamp or Levykauppa X. The music video by Niina Lehtonen Braun can be seen here. The record release concert will take place at Korjaamon vintti, Helsinki, 15 September. […]
TUE 30 AUGUST 2022 5–7PM On 30 August 2022, Lönnström Art Museum and Studio Kalleinen will present and launch the English version of Conversation Park; a book exploring an in depth overview of a unique artistic experiment in transforming an abandoned plot of land into a public park in Rauma, Finland. The book, which is for […]
A walk on the edge is a performative experience and a collective journey in Fenais da Luz, a village on the North coast of São Miguel Island. The pathway connects Azores’ history, a local tragedy from the 1980s, and the audience members’ personal relationship to owning. Starting from the overwhelming idea that If you live on […]
I am happy to announce that Anatomia, the depute album of Olento Orchestral, will be released 26 August! It was recorded by Juuso Norlund in the full analogue JJ Studio in Tampere, Finland. The album cover art is made by Niina Lehtonen Braun Welcome to the record release concert at Korjaamon vintti 15 September!
JOKAklubi, Olento Orchestral and The Spermbankers will join forces and make a hilarious evening, together with their guest stars, at the legendary Westgermany club in Berlin. More info follows!
In the book Keskustelupuisto / Conversation park we describe a unique artistic experiment of transforming an abandoned plot of land into a public park in the Finnish town of Rauma. In 2019 thirty residents between the ages of 6 and 89 became players in a two-year-long “Public Space Game”. Their mission was to turn 30 different […]
Sunday 20 March, 7.30pm @ Hilbertraum, Reuterstrasse 31, 12047 Berlin. The Theory Show opens the floor for theories of any kind. JOKAklubi has invited five surprise guests to choose or come up with a theory, and present it. JOKAklubi is a group of three visual artists Niina Lehtonen Braun, Mirka Raito and Tellervo Kalleinen. JOKAklubi […]
KARVONEN – KALLEINEN – KOCHTA-KALLEINEN – KEZELE – NEVCHE People mostly believe their thought processes to be both rational and sensible. And yet, systemic mistakes influence our thinking far more than we realise. These universally shared mental shortcuts are known as cognitive biases. The best-known cognitive bias is the confirmation bias which leads us to […]
Welcome to our artist talk 30 September 7pm at HayArt Cultural Center. Simultaneous translation in armenian language. Free entry! Organised by Artasfoundation, supported by Frame.
In the performance we share our struggles of living up to our values and ideals. This session is intended for professional “re-imagineers” who work day in and out on the transformation of society. In our experiment we want to understand how individuals manage to translate the goals and ideals of their daily work into their […]
Besides working on the album, Olento Orchestral does some gigs as well this autumn: We’ll play 3rd September at Vihreä talo, Riihimäki and 4th September at Telakka, Tampere. Both evenings are shared with Motelli Skronkle. 9th December we’ll perform at West Germany Club in Berlin, together with JOKAklubi and The Spermbankers. Welcome!
JOKAklubi is looking forward to perform at Jättömaa Kylässä! Even though the legendary Jättömaa-festival was cancelled due to corona, we are happy that a smaller Jättömaa kylässä -event will be organised at Huhdasjärven kylätalo in Jaala. You can buy your ticket from here
If corona allows, the trips to Armenia and The Azores will finally take place in autumn 2021. The new project in Armenia is a collaboration with Art As Foundation, with whom we have a history of working together. The new work in The Azores will be part of Walk & Talk festival and will be a collaboration between Tellervo […]
We take part in the Trouble festival in Belgium, 11 July 2021 with our performance Playing Adults. In the piece four adult actors perform adults based on observations and views of children, who have been interviewed for the piece. The performance turns the local Parc Liedekerke -playground into an absurd stage of adulthood. The piece highlights the […]
It is now possible to get to know Keskustelupuisto (Conversation Park) through a mobile phone app, designed by Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and co-created with the project participants. The app is currently only partly in English, but please have a look and get a sense of the project, where 21 inhabitants of Rauma negotiated and realised a new […]
I am very excited about the recordings of Olento Orchestral´s new album at an analogy studio JJ Studio in Tampere, Finland. You can follow the progress at the Olento Orchestral web site!
I perform a new solo performance Spending Time Together at the How To Do Things With Performance -program at Helsinki´s Theatre Academy. The program is part of a research project of Hanna Järvinen, Tero Nauha, Pilvi Porkola and Annette Arlander. Register here “The Academy of Finland funded research project (2016-2021) How To Do Things With Performance at […]
The Y-Foundation is one of the key national developers of the Housing First principle in Finland. Inspired by their work, which has made Finland the only country in Europe where the number of homeless people is on the decline, we created Ode For Y art piece. The work includes of 17 374 mosaic tiles, which will have an augmented reality […]
JOKAklubi´s online performance Die Gruppenreise February 20 at 7PM CET – please reserve your place at eventbrite. The performance is part of part of KISMET exhibition by JOKAklubi and Niina Lehtonen-Braun @ SCOTTY, Berlin. JOKAklubi was founded in 2009 and combines performance, music, and installation in entrancing low-tech performances, videos, and exhibitions. JOKAklubi is inspired by people and […]
Archipelago Science Fiction is screened at Oodi, Helsinki, at OP2 -space during 20.-25. October. You can enter the loop any time between 6pm-7.30pm. The event is part of Agenda – Art 2030, curated by artist Marika Tomu Kaipainen. The film work is made in collaboration with Henrik Andersson. The fabulous animations are made by Antonia Ringbom.
I had an honor to curate two films of AMPI (Academy of Moving Images and People) graduates to a screening organised by IHME. Welcome to see the great films by Shahi Derky and Mariangela Pluchino and join the discussion! More about the event: https://bit.ly/3iGd2Qj
Conversation Park – A Public Space Game culminates in the opening of a collectively designed park. If you could decide, what kind of a park would you like to have in your home town? This question was put to thirty Rauma residents between the ages 6–89 who had volunteered to participate in the Conversation Park (Keskustelupuisto) contemporary art […]
JOKAklubi participates Séance Fiction @ Kunstverein Familie Montez with two audio pieces I Almost Said and I Shouldn´t Have Said, and a performance. The exhibition features JOKAklubi´s heart-rending yet humorous songs consisting of collected sentences, which were almost said, or which shouldn´t have been said. The participatory painting performance will take place 4th September, 9pm […]
Me and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen present our new piece Forms of Social Distancing at Ars Kärsämäki (Kärsämäki, Finland). The exhibition focuses on artist couples who work together and it is curated by Raisa Raekallio and Misha del Val.
Looking forward an evening with JOKAklubi, Olento Orchestral and The Spermbankers 9 May @ West Germany, Berlin. EDIT: The event was cancelled due to Covid 19 -pandemia.
We are happy to start a collaboration with Art As Foundation in Armenia. We will make our first research trip in April 2020. EDIT: The trip was cancelled during the Covid 19 -pandemia.
I will be composing a complaints choir song out of the complaints of the Art At Risk -conference participants – and leading a process of learning and performing the choir song. The event is exclusively for the conference members.
I will be talking about our video work Archipelago Science Fiction in the finissage of Ocean Dwellers exhibition, curated by Solvej Ovesen. The talk takes place at the auditorium of the Nordic Embassies, Rauchstrasse 1, Berlin. In the same occasion we will be hearing the talk by curator Heidi Ballet. Free entry!
I am deeply grateful for the artist grant from KONE foundation, which allows me to continue the full focus on my artistic work.
I look forward to give a workshop “Anatomy of a Conflict” at Shared Campus, the Zurich University of the Arts. “Shared Campus is a cooperation platform for international education formats and research networks launched by eight arts institutions. Close cooperation is imperative to tackling issues of global significance. Especially the arts can, and indeed ought to, play […]
JOKAklubi is happy to perform The Perfect End at Opean10 -event at MUG im Einstein, Munich, 5 December 8pm. The evening continues with the concert of LAU. Thank you Tobias Frank und Patrick Morarescu for the invitation!
I will be talking about Keskustelupuisto / Common Ground Park at KampusART -seminar, organised by Turku Arts Academy. Address Joukahaisenkatu 3, Turku. The event starts 2 December 5pm, my talk is 7pm. Free entry! Welcome!
You are warmly welcome to For this dance, I will take the lead at Mad House Helsinki. The audience is invited to experience the piece on a dance floor. The starting point for the piece is an experience of not being able to always influence your own life as much as you´d like to. The evening bases […]
Haemme esitykseen ihmisiä jakamaan kokemuksensa siitä, kun on liikaa muiden vietävänä. Esitys Tässä tanssissa minä vien koostuu osallistujien valitsemista musiikkikappaleista. Niiden soidessa osallistujat toimivat viejän roolissa – yleisön liikkuessa osallistujien ohjeiden mukaisesti. Teoksessa pysähdytään tunteeseen siitä, kun ei pysty vaikuttamaan tarpeeksi omaan elämäänsä. Millaisissa tilanteissa ja millä elämän alueilla tämä tunne valtaa? Mitä kokemus kontrollin […]
Isäni -music video, created by artist Niina Lehtonen Braun, was chosen to the competition series of Oulu Music Video Festival 2019. Isäni is a song by my band Olento Orchestral.
Archipelago Science Fiction is part of Ocean Dwellers exhibition at Nordic Embassies, Berlin. The exhibition is curated by Solvej Ovesen. The Turku archipelago on the Baltic Sea provide the framework for four sci–fiscenarios. The islanders themselves perform the hilarious and sometimes chilling episodes, which base on their own fears and hopes of how the area […]
As part of Real Work -exhibition of Fact, a work -related complaints choir will be created in Liverpool. Participation is free for anyone who is ready to spend some time turning complaints into choir lyrics, and practice the new great song with the fabulous choir director Jennifer John. Public performances take place 31 August – follow […]
The complete installation of Complaints Choirs is presented at Kunstverein Ludwigshafen 12 April – 30 June 2019. We will give an artist talk 30 June. Thank you Curator Barbara Auer for this wonderful invitation!
For Havana Biennial me and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen make a new work: 9 CARTUCHOS – Paper Bag Stories From Cuba. For the piece we commissioned local professional writers and thinkers to write a speech about Cuba from their particular point of view – using a paper bag as a reference point. An edition of 9 paper bags with […]
satayksi.fi In 2015 artists me and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen visited one hundred homes around Finland and interviewed people about their personal relationship with 30 topics that tend to divide opinions. The 100 interviewees formed a cross-section of the Finnish population in terms of gender, age, region, education, level of income, country of origin and mother tongue. Why […]
Niina Lehtonen Braun has made a new music video for my band Olento Orchestral! The video is made to the newest single Isäni.
Archipelago Science Fiction will be screened at the two day Making Worlds -event including screenings, performances and conversations at Zentrum für Teoretische Peripherie. Thank you curator Isabel de Sena for the invitation!
People in White (by Kalleinen & Kochta-Kalleinen) will be screened at Ludwigshafen Kunstverein together with Plantheon (by Ulu Braun and Teuri Haarla) 10 January 7pm. The event is organised by Ludwigshafen Kunstverein, Port25 and Finnland institut.
I am glad to be one of the three “provocateurs” at Talk Kallio! Do You Have A Say? It is a series of monthly unconference happenings designed to encourage people to talk about the issues that matter to them. The discussions will be set off by invited guests who will act as provocateurs. The theme of […]
101 For All – including 65 hours of video material – is finally translated into English! It´s therefore ready to pass the borders of Finland. We are very happy to show the work at Stadtgallerie Kiel in spring 2019 as part of An Der Nordkante -exhibition.
Archipelago Science Fiction -video installation will be part of Considering Finland -exhibition at Ludwigshafen Art Museum 10 November 2018 – 13 January 2019. The exhibition program includes our artist talk and the screening of People in White 10 November.
Archipelago Science Fiction will be broadcasted by Finnish national television YLE 11 and 12 September 1.40pm, and 14 September 3.15pm.
30 June 9pm @ Acud club, Berlin / 14 July 6pm @ Kaaoslava, Oulu / 23 August 8pm @ Villa Kallvik, Helsinki / 8 September 7pm @ Bändi piknik, Harakka, Helsinki / 16 September 5pm @ Viimeinen kymppiklubi, Kirjasto 10, Postitalo, Helsinki /
Common Ground – A Public Space Game (Keskustelupuisto) web site is launched, and the project is now open for applications! Anyone living in Rauma, Finland, can apply. The project will involve 36 residents who reflect the age distribution of the local population. They will design and realise a public park within a game-like process April 2019 – August […]
Happy to be part of Ulme festival in Tartu, Estonia, with my new solo performance Exaggerating Mind. The festival is Curated by Kiwa. “Ulmefestival transforms Tartu New Theatre into an unique state of mind, where fantasy knows no borders and the sci-fi perception horizons come to life in words, sounds and movements. ‘Ulme’ is an estonian word […]
JOKAklubi´s Time Machine invites audience members to re-live selected situations from their memory lane. The evening is a wild combination of short performances of local artists, improvised talk show, music and chaos. We start 9pm with a concert of Olento Orchestral, followed by Time Machine Show and dance party!
We are honoured to have the Finland premiere of Tracking Dar Es Salaam at Mänttä Art Festival (17 June – 31 August, 2018). This work by Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and myself is an interactive video installation, which shows parallel realities of Dar es Salaam through one ordinary weekday of 11 local inhabitants. The spectator have to make choices which of the video clips to watch, […]
In the new project of mine and Oliver – commissioned by m-cult – we will collaborate with three different kind of groups from Maunula to influence their neighbourhood. Each group will develop a real-life avatar, played by actors (Max Bremer, Outi Vuoriranta and Niina Sillanpää), which they conduct within the local ‘game zone’. We wish to create […]
We are happy to announce that our project proposal, which we submitted to the open call of Lönnström Art Museum, was selected. The exceptionally large production sum of 150 000 euro allowed us to think big, and we developed the concept COMMON GROUND – A Public Space Game. We´ll invite 36 people to turn an appointed piece of land into a public park. […]
The video work Play This At My Funeral by Niina Lehtonen Braun and myself – based on the music by Karl Jonas Winqvist – will be part of MEETINGS -festival, organized by ET4U and curated by Leena Kela.
The documentation video of Helsinki Complaints Choir will be part of Kansan Asialla -group exhibition at Tampere Art Museum. The exhibition, which is part of Finland´s 100 year celebrations, deals with the relationship between the art world and the other citizens.
We looked for stories about conflicts that were amicably settled. The stories we received came from different areas of life and society and were taking place in different parts of the world. A selection of the stories will be retold at Temporary Pavilion for Permanent Negotiations by a Dutch mediator Chantal van Doesburgh, who also facilitates discussion, which the […]
In the context of AVEK 30 years anniversary, AV Arkki organises a screening of experimental films, including a panel discussion which I will be joining. 27 Sept 5pm at Orion cinema, Helsinki.
In Finnish language Tunne Luonto means both knowing about nature and feeling the nature. On their Tunneluonto -walk Maija Hirvanen and Tellervo Kalleinen invite the participants to reflect the relationship between knowledge and feeling when experiencing nature. 2 September 12 o´clock at Vartiosaari, Helsinki. More info: http://www.nordicenviroart.org/
Talks about participation in contemporary art by Kaija Kaitavuori and myself. Studia Generalia, Art University, 7 September, 4.30pm @ Auditorium of Musiikkitalo.
101 For All is shown at Lappeenranta art museum 3.6.-30.7.2016 and at Seinäjoki Taidehalli / Art Hall 18.11.2017 -21.1.2018. The one hundred participants in this interactive video installation represent a statistic cross section of the Finnish population. The artists visited their homes during a period of six months and interviewed them of 30 divisive issues. One viewer at a time […]
I am happy to participate a seminar on collaborative arts, June 15, 15.30-18.30 at Maunula-talo, Metsäpurontie 4, Helsinki. Collaborative, socially engaged arts redistribute the agency of art-making among artists, participants and institutional contexts. In this event we will address the complex negotiations involved in the production and presentation of collaborative projects. The event is free of charge but requires […]
TEMPORARY PAVILION FOR PERMANENT NEGOTIATIONS is a space for playing with conflicts. We called on people to tell a story about a conflict: at work, in a relationship, in the neighborhood or on a world scale. The collected conflicts have one thing in common: they were (ultimately) resolved. What happened, and how did the situation transform? These conflicts […]
New edition of Walkapolis walk tours by Maija Hirvanen and Tellervo Kalleinen are organised at the botanical garden in Helsinki centre 3rd May 5pm and 6th and 7th May 2pm. Registrations until 1 May to info@walkapolis.fi – the tours are free of charge and in Finnish.
Archipelago Science Fiction is part of I See -festival 26.-27.5.2017 at Ram Galleri Oslo. The curators of the screening are Clemens Wilhelm & Constantin Hartenstein
The exhibition produced by the Finnish Bioart Society and the Oulu Museum of Art, in collaboration with curator Nina Czegledy, focuses its gaze on our relationship with nature, including diverse approaches towards the transforming environment.
Commissioned by TAAK, we will take part to their Cure Park -project and make a new work to a forest park Amsterdamse Bos. More info follows!
I am delighted to join Emma Talks -discussion series of Espoo Museum of Modern Art on the meaning of art in society 12 April, 5pm. The discussion between architect Asmo Jaaksi, designer Katja Soini and myself is moderated by curator Henna Paunu.
Screening of People in White is organised at the auditorium of Lapinlahden Lähde 19 March, followed by discussion. The context of the screening is Sjählö 9 -exhibition. Finnish National TV station YLE broadcasts People in White 26 March 1.30pm.
The work is an interactive video installation, which shows parallel realities of Dar es Salaam through one weekday of 11 local inhabitants. The spectator have to make choices which of the video clips to watch, recorded in different parts of the city during that day, and which of the people to follow and listen. The soundtrack consists of recorded interviews with the participants as […]
Me and Oliver will talk about our work at 2nd Thursdays -series by Roland Rauschmeier and Anne Juren, Thursday 15th of December 2016 8:00 pm at WTKB Studios, Pernerstorfergasse 5, Ateliers 3rd floor, 1100 Vienna. Welcome!
I Almost Said by JOKAklubi and Miia Rinne in Westwerk, Hamburg, 2-16 Oct, with the Time Machine -performance 1 Oct 9pm, and in Hilbertraum, Berlin, 11-20 Nov, 2016. In the first larger gallery exhibition by JOKAklubi we show three installations: The Long Goodbye, The Ends and I Almost Said. The opening performance Time Machine invites the audience to look into […]
Me and Oliver will be spending several weeks in June-July in Tanzania, working within the project Simulizi Mijuni / Urban Narratives. We´ll give artist talk at Nafasi Art Space 14 June.
Olento Orchestral will play at Jättömaa / Wasteland festival in Kouvola, Finland, 23 July 3.30pm. A lot of new music pieces will premiere, performed by Nick Martin, Aino Juutilainen, Mia Erlin, Pentti Luomakangas, Janne Lastumäki and myself. You are so welcome.
Archipelago Science Fiction is part of EMAP, an open air sound and moving image festival in Seoul, Korea, which carries this year a title Save Our Souls. Art for a Time of Urgencies. The festival consists of the art program from Korea and Finland.
JOKAklubi (Tellervo Kalleinen, Niina Lehtonen Braun and Mirka Raito) releases 25th May 2016 a music video, with the fantastic sound track The Long Goodbye by Karl-Jonas Winqvist & Blood Music! We show it at Katko Galleria 25.5.-19.6. – a gallery in Tampere – and publish it also online. Open behind this link: Enjoy watching
In The Middle Of A Movie will be shown at Kumu, Estonia, in an exhibition Kumu Hits. Contemporary Art from the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia. For the work I asked people to write a film scene that takes place in their own home, and act it together with me. The work was […]
Identity -exhibition at NAMU brings together artists from Nordic countries, the Baltics and Ukraine, to survey the marks of identity left on today’s world. The curator of the exhibition is Solvita Krese from Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art.
I will perform at the Binary Night performance art club at Madhouse, Suvilahti, with a new short piece dealing with binary oppositions as well as political polarisation. Other performing artists of the evening are David Frankovich and Irma Optimist, who approach binaries from the perspectives of mathematics, bisexuality, and Between and after the performances, DJs […]
YKON launches a new open source project YKON DINNER GAME at Performing Encounters, Berlin. It takes place April 13, 2016 at 7pm, at Haus Am Lützowplatz. If you like to take part, please RSVP to hello(at)performingencounters.de The YKON DINNER is a game, that alters interactions at the dinner table. By using a dinner structure of […]
Welcome to Lavaklubi, the cozy home base of Speech karaoke! The speech selection of our karaoke system – including almost 300 speeches – has been completed with new speeches found from Thailand, where The Speech Karaoke Action Group had a tour in January 2016. The new speeches Include also the apology speech for Thai berry […]
Nice exhibition coming up… “While utopian or dystopian stories or images typically imagine societies separated from us in space (the island or enclave) or time (the future), these fictions invite us to make comparisons to our own world. The flaws and nascent possibilities that we are blind to in our own time and place become […]
As part of DOings and kNOts -exhibition at Kunstihoone I will tell about our experiences in organising complaints choir -project in different cultures, after which Anneliis Kits, the composer of The Tallinn Complaints Choir, will teach the audience the Tallinn complaints choir song!
I am grateful for being one of the ten receivers of William Thuring Prize, awarded by the Finnish Art Society. Thank you!
I am very happy to announce the first public concert of our band Olento Orchestral. The event takes place at the intimate and lovely concert venue Vihreä Talo. Tellervo Kalleinen – composition, lyrics, vocals Mia Erlin – vocals Aino Juutilainen – cello Nick Martin – synthesizer Janne Lastumäki – drums Pentti Luomakangas – guitar/saxophone
Open – this simple word contains the seeds for a slow and silent revolution. It stands for a complete transformation of society as we know it. In fact, this transition has already started: Open Source Software altered some fundamental economic beliefs. This transformation comes in many shapes and ideas: Open Source, Open Democracy, Open Knowledge, […]
Love, Death and Margarine is a four-hour long potpourri we composed of answers to different questions by the 100 participants of the 101 For All -installation. The interviews chosen for this showing have subtitles in English! Welcome to Kunsthalle Helsinki, Nervanderinkatu 3, Helsinki. You can drop in any time between 4pm and 8pm for the […]
A solo show of me & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, premiering new works, opens 17th October 2015 at Art Hall Helsinki. The exhibition deals with the dynamics behind forming and expressing an opinion – and about statistics and the question of representation. We visited 100 people who form a cross section of Finnish population, and asked about […]
We are happy to perform again Family Comes Home – a concept, which was originally commissioned by Helsinki Festival few years back. Together with actors Max Bremer and Johanna Af Schultén we will organize an event where the audience takes their ancestors along. The performances will be in Swedish. Family Comes Home takes place at […]
The Speech Karaoke Action Group will have one of their popular karaoke club evenings at one of their favorite places in the world – Lavaklubi Helsinki!
Complaints Choir work will be included in an exhibition The Never Ending Story: DOings & kNOTs, which introduces manual- and instruction based works. The exhibition is curated by Margit Säde.
Me and Oliver are excited about the invitation to make a new work in Tanzania over the summer 2016. The project is called SIMULIZI MIJINI / URBAN NARRATIVES and it is curated by ZK/U and Nafasi Art Space. It will be our first time in Africa!