Contemporary Art in Kenya… Two Years On

Kenya Mon 02-06-2008

Contemporary Art in Kenya… Two Years On
By Isaac Miriri

Why would conciliatory comradeship between two continental European countries have an impact on culture thousands of miles away? Two years ago, such an alliance led to a juried competition and exhibition to showcase the best in Kenyan contemporary art, a pinnacle of the Contemporary art in Kenya 2006 project (CAK 2006)

Now, a multimedia CD-Rom cataloguing the 2006 exhibition has finally been made available and artists selected for the original event showed their recent works at the Goethe Institut and Alliance Française, Nairobi, between 24 April and 9 may 2008.

^{German Ambassador, Walter Lindner and other guests at the opening of the Contemporary art in Kenyan Exhibition}

Contemporary African art and artists often follow paths less orthodox than their western counterparts, and here is a case in point.

CAK 2006 was sponsored by the French German Cultural Cooperation Fund launched in 2003 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, sealing reconciliation and friendship between France and Germany.

Walter J Lindner, the art-loving German ambassador, left a diplomats’ meeting to attend the opening of the 2008 ‘Contemporary Art in Kenya …

Two Years On’ exhibition and hailed the achievements since 2006. Renaud Ferrand, first Counsellor at the Embassy of France, reinforced the two countries’ commitment to enhancing the arts in Kenya.

The opening speeches were made at the Goethe Institut, with the launch of the CD and a cocktail party held at the Alliance Française.

I set out to find what impact CAK 2006 and the events of the last two years have had on some of the artists’ careers.

Joseph ‘Bertiers’ Mbatia, who won the Jury Prize, a fully-paid artistic stay in the sponsoring countries, says, “My tour in places of art in Germany and France was very exciting, though the language was a barrier in both countries.”

His ‘International Pressure on Cake Sharing’, displayed at the Goethe Institut, was the main attraction at the ‘Two Years On’ exhibition.

One could hear people discussing Bertiers’ use of satire to show the pressure on Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga from diplomats and the international community during the Kofi Annan-led power-sharing mediation after the 2007 disputed presidential elections.

People with different political views were standing next to each other, looking in, hardly a few months after the event.

Bertiers claims that since the exposure given to him at CAK 2006, the stakes have risen, but his style – at least in this work – has not evolved in the last two years.

Samuel Githui, 2006 winner, Best of Paintings, likes to work “anywhere”, and thus, to preserve his anonymity, does not like appearing on TV or having his picture published.

“I received a call from Alliance Française and was asked not to miss the opening of the Contemporary Art in Kenya juried exhibition on 28 February 2006”, he says. “I had no idea my work had won the ‘best of paintings’ prize and I was pleasantly surprised.”

The award consisted of cash and a certificate. He put half of the money into work materials and spent the rest in other ways.

CAK 2006 has exposed him to more clients and has made him more confident.

Furthermore, according to Githui, a fine arts diploma holder from the Creative Art Centre, “the follow up of the project inspires one to experiment and do more, by looking back and ahead into the future.”

Githui’s ‘Tangazo’ oil on canvas (79” x 134”) was displayed at the Alliance Française during ‘Two Years On’. This piece of work was inspired in August-September 2006 during the Kuona Trust Wasanii International Workshop held in Lamu, Kenya.

“Tangazo [notice] depicts life in the streets of Lamu, where you find fliers or posters giving information on things that are taking place.

Donkeys are the life of Lamu, as they are the mode of transport within the narrow streets and they seem wise, by always obeying.”

He started work on the piece, showing donkeys at work, in March 2007 when he was in Lamu for another two weeks, teaching print-making together with John Silver to guests at Yoni Waite’s Gallery and Guest House, and finished it in November 2007.

He has so far worked on 70 per cent of what he intends to exhibit on the theme ‘Daily Bread’, showing what people go through as they toil in life.

Githui has facilitated workshops for primary schools and children’s clubs sponsored by the Kuona Trust and Juhudi Foundation.

He has also taught during the Dunda Mtaani Festival in Mathare, Kibera and Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi, sponsored by the GoDown Arts Centre.

He is currently teaching art privately to a primary school student for 1-2 hours once a week.

“Kenyan art should be entrenched in Kenyan society, especially in children’s life. The Kenyan government must do more in preserving artworks to show our history as art progresses,” Githui says.

His views are echoed by Fredrick Abuga. “The government should do more in putting back art as a subject in schools,” he says, citing that “children in private schools are more exposed to art and are the ones becoming artists and buyers of art. They are able to appreciate and respect artists and their works.”

I visited Abuga at his studio in the GoDown Arts Centre as he worked on a mixed media piece. As winner of ‘most promising male artist’ 2006, he received a one month art residence at Kuona Trust.

At this time he was in his third year at Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts (BIFA) doing a diploma in fine arts and went for his residence in March 2007 after finishing college.

As a result of the residence, he is experimenting with old and new wood pieces producing moods that he says come out better in mixed media than in painting. He is now making works showing classical music.

He previously used terrorism as a theme, after collecting wood from the site of the 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi. He is also doing more commissions for book illustrations.

“Kenyan art is growing, but not many understand contemporary art,” the 27 year old says.

To him, contemporary art is the next level of modern art, whereby one does what seems ‘right’ rather than ‘academic’ (following rules).

Abuga is doing well thanks to CAK 2006, and looks forward to the time when Kenyans will be able to appreciate and buy art easily.

Samuel Githui has, for his own development, attended various workshops in Kenya and abroad learning different modes of art in print making, casting sculptures using resin fibre glass and metal welding among others. But what next?

“Artists should create exciting possibilities and experiment more on using other mediums other than painting on canvas.

We need to see more of art photography, video and installations,” says James Muriuki, a member of the CAK 2006 jury, and curator and gallery manager at Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art (RaMoMA).

“There is a great need for funds and marketing of art within our country, and the hardest thing is that artists are creating artworks thinking more of immediate sales at the expense of creativity.

There’s also a great need of art critics,” adds Muriuki.

The Kenyan corporate world has started to appreciate art, with Safaricom displaying works in their offices. I&M Bank also collects art, and if more corporates follow suit, then Kenyan art could grow tremendously.

“RaMoMA is putting together a permanent collection of artworks that will benefit the future generations and is publicly accessible.”

The arguably largest gallery in east Africa is privately funded, but much more is needed. “Life is art and art is life,” concludes Muriuki.

More education, more innovation, more funding, more critics, more patronage, more visibility... While CAK 2006 may have contributed to raising the profile of Kenyan art, we still have a long way to go.

And yet despite all the issues, a few artists such as Beatrice Njoroge continue to be inspired by new events, move outside their comfort zones (and tried-and-tested styles that have been commercially successful) and take risks.

In the meantime, Kenya is one of 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and 64 countries worldwide set to benefit from the French German Cultural Cooperation Fund this year.

The new project is ‘Jukwaani Festival for Performance Literature’, which will be implemented by the Goethe Institut, Alliance Française and local partners in Nairobi.

It aims to promote performance literature on stage, building a bridge between traditional literature and the modern forms of expressions. The project is expected to be ready by the end of 2008 or early 2009.

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