Description
“Going to Town” explores belonging through an exhibition of paintings and archival photographs that follow Cecelia Miller’s family history. Closely tied to Lusaka’s early infrastructural development during preand post-independent Zambia, Cecelia’s narrative unfolds as a journey – one that begins from her family home in Lilayi and ends in the heart of town around the vicinity of the Everyday Lusaka Gallery. Cecelia traces various routes and modes of transport into town – by foot, horse-cart, rail, bike or car – through a cityscape that continues to evolve.
The Miller family has been part of Zambia’s story since 1902, when Cecelia’s great-grandfather, PT Miller, arrived in what was then Northern Rhodesia as a contracted civil engineer on the Cape to Cairo railway project. His work in laying the first rail lines into Zambia was foundational to the city’s early infrastructure, the sound of which still reverberates in town today.
After completing his work on the railway from Livingstone to Sakania, Congo, he settled in what is still known as Lilayi Farm. His son, Cecelia’s grandfather, PTS Miller, was a key player in water infrastructure projects across the country in the 1950s and after independence. PTS Miller designed and constructed water schemes and towers throughout the country, which have become a signature motif in the landscape of the city. While originally serving imperial ambitions, these colonialera projects also enabled Lusaka’s transformation into a modern capital, setting in motion the city’s economic and spatial evolution.
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