Overview

“At a time when creative industries are growing worldwide……. African artists – yearn for adequate exposure and appreciation on the international art scene. They work passionately to create authentic artworks, to inspire and transform their societies.” - Obiaeli Ezekwesili, Vice President, Africa Region, The World Bank, Africa Now, 2009.

AfricanColours is the premier internet space for the promotion of contemporary African art. We are a cultural enterprise established in 2000 to promote contemporary African art to a global audience using modern technologies. 

The AfricanColours website provides up to the minute information on Contemporary African Art:  relevant art news such as exhibitions, feature articles, and new media from the African continent and the Diaspora. With a central office based in Nairobi, its work is supported by regional representatives in five geographical regions  in the whole of Africa as well as in Europe and America.

Our Vision & Mission: 

AfricanColours works towards a “viable contemporary African art scene that is internationally recognized and technologically savvy”. We do so by “Connecting artists and engaging the art industry through leveraging technologies, offering cultural experiences in and creating value for contemporary visual arts in Africa”.

Our Core Values:

-   Creativeness/Innovation
-   Quality/accuracy
-   Integrity/ impartiality
-   Cultural diversity

Since the mid 1980’s, interest in contemporary art with roots in post colonial Africa has been growing. Events such as the Dak’art Biennial of Contemporary African Art, collections such as the Pigozzi Collection of Contemporary African Art and the Africa Now exhibition of the World Bank bear witness to the growing interest. Initiatives such as the Arterial network, ‘Art Moves Africa’ and ‘Imagine Africa’ are contributing to strengthening awareness of African Art and support to African artists and creative industries as well as advocating for appropriate policies at national and international levels.But despite this focus, contemporary African art remains a niche market and much needs to be done to bring it to a wider audience, both at home and abroad.

Information on the much wider pool of African contemporary artist’s remains fragmented. Only a few, mainly Western-trained African artists have reached levels of international acclaim. Many thousands of artists remain on the continent with little opportunity for exhibiting their works and exchanging with other artists across the continent. Europe and North America remain the goal for many African artists to perfect their skills and gain recognition. The wide opportunity of sharing and learning across African countries and hence stimulating creativity on the continent is frequently neglected.

Many potential artists on the continent lack stimulation from an educational system that is not equipped enough to support creativity coupled with lack of institutions for professional growth and job opportunities in an underrepresented creative industries sector.
To date AfricanColours has been able to raise the profile of over 300 African Artists in the continent and in the Diaspora.

Organisational Structure:

AfricanColours is a limited company incorporated under the Kenya Companies Act. It is supervised by a non-executive board. The Board's responsibility is to guide AfricanColours' long-term strategy and leverage the strength of its members for the benefit of the organisation. 

The Board consists of five members appointed by the board members in consultation with the executive director. They represent internationally recognised expertise in art, media, marketing, social development, ICT and law. The board has a minimum of three sittings per year.

Country Representatives:

To ensure comprehensive coverage of artists and art events on the continent and to give a wide audience of stakeholders in the art scene a chance to follow the trends and progress made in this sector, AfricanColours works with country or regional representatives.

These individuals represent and promote AfricanColours in their own regions in agreement with the head office.

These representatives are also art practitioners or journalists with a strong knowledge of regional and national developments in the visual arts as well as with a track record of writing on the arts. They are bilingual (English/French, Arabic/English, Portuguese/English) where appropriate to facilitate communication.

Activities:

AfricanColours' commitment goes beyond the internet. Our office in Nairobi supports a number of innovative programmes such as the commissioning of public art works. Gallery Walks, exhibitions, a residency programme for visiting artists from the Diaspora and other African countries. In addition AfricanColours is about to start publishing a quarterly magazine “ArtAfrica” with the sole aim of escalating the promotion of African artists and their works.
We invite all those interested in fostering Contemporary African art to partner with us in bringing art to both new and old audiences, creating opportunities in the arts and raising awareness around African creative’s on the continent and beyond.

It’s our hope that this website pushes the continent one step forward in the creation of new markets for contemporary African art.

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The Team

Partners