annual report

ANNUAL REPORT
March 2011- February 2012
Kingdom of the Netherlands
LAMBENT
FOUNDATION
kuonatrust
is part of
africa
www.collaboratory.org
eptual art
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AccessKenya
GROUP
ANNUAL REPORT
March 2011- February 2012
. . . in this report
Context..........................................................................................................................3
Organisational Information..........................................................................................4
Narrative Progress Report on Activities......................................................................8
Marketing and Corporate Relations......................................................................8
Capital Campaign for long term Sustainability.......................................................9
Art and Business Partnerships................................................................................11
Community & Education Outreach Projects...........................................................12
Exhibitions.............................................................................................................13
Art Training............................................................................................................16
New Studios and Gallery.........................................................................................18
Kuona Catalogue....................................................................................................18
Provincial workshops, Local &International Residencies........................................19
Kuona Trust Open Day............................................................................................23
Kuona Trust Art Shop.............................................................................................25
The Artists..............................................................................................................25
The 11th Wasanii International Artists Workshop, Naivasha, August 2011..............26
Collaborations........................................................................................................28
Kuona HR Review..........................................................................................................30
Conclusion/Summary....................................................................................................32
Strategy Map.................................................................................................................33
Invitations..............................................................................................................34
Monthly E-Newsletter.............................................................................................39
website extracts....................................................................................................40
Press Cuttings........................................................................................................42
context
Appendices
Kevvo Stero’s film at Hysterical Injustices exhibition
ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION
Kuona Trust
Sylvia N. Gichia
PO Box 4802, Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, 00506
Likoni Close, Likoni Lane off Dennis Pritt Road, Hurlingham,
Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone Number:
Land line + 254 20 2405960 Mobile +254 (0)721 262326
(0)733 742752
Email address:
[email protected]
Website:
www.kuonatrust.org
Legal form of the organisation: Registered non-profit Trust
introduction
Name of Organization:
Name of Contact Person:
Correspondence address:
Place of business:
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GENERAL DETAILS OF ORGANISATION
New staff as from 1st Feb 2012
Sylvia N Gichia
Director
Ernest Ndungu
Financial, HR and Admin Officer
Ato Malinda
Programme and Marketing Officer (under review)
Renee Mboya
Studios and Office Administrator
Danda Jaroljmek
Consultant
Plus interns from Nairobi University and volunteer artists part-time
Kuona Trustees
Arvind Vohora
male
Sian Daniel
female
Patricia Amira
female
Wangari Murugu
female
Kuona is currently looking for 2 new Trustees
The Trustees meet with the Director once every two months and are in regular contact by weekly
emails and informal lunch meetings. Kuona holds monthly artist meetings and a working group of
artists assists the office on major projects.
Kuona Trust is a non-profit registered Trust established in 1995 that has been in the forefront of
developing the visual art scene in Kenya in the last 15 years.
Kuona now has a highly successful art centre that is open to the public 7 days a week; providing
studios space, workshops, a resource centre, educational programmes, outreach projects and
exhibitions from a busy location in Hurlingham. It is an efficient, professional, accountable and
experienced organisation that has supported the extended artistic community in Kenya and
abroad by providing 16 years of skills, networking and service to a loyal following of artists and
the public through its central hub of creativity, education and inspiration.
Since 1995, Kuona Trust has played a major role in raising the profile of visual arts. There is an
increasing presence and interest in the visual arts, with more exhibition space for artists, a group
of established artists, emerging artists and a definite increase in public awareness and enjoyment of art; but there is still a long way to go before art is valued and visible in Kenya and apart
from a few galleries and public buildings showing art, only Kuona Trust provides all the other
facilities visual artists need for development.
Over the past 15 years nearly all Kenyan and many other African artists have benefited from
Kuona Trust with at least 1,000 artists participating in Kuona programmes, either working at the
studios, participating in the workshops, residencies, exhibitions, art training, public and
outreach projects. Kuona has provided support and opportunities for artists to excel and
encouraged the larger Kenyan public to become interested in the visual arts. There is no other
organisation in East Africa catering specifically to the wider needs of the visual arts community.
Kuona’s Mission
„To advance the skills and opportunities of contemporary visual artists to create innovative,
world class art in Kenya.� Kuona”s Vision
‘Art is a valued and integral part of our society.’
Kuona Objectives
1. To find and nurture innate artistic talent Without Kuona Trust, centre for visual arts, emerging
artists will not have an organization to work from that is dedicated to providing them with working space, exhibitions, research facilities, art training workshops, mentoring by established
artists, peer to peer learning in a communal, safe working environment which provides all
utilities, equipment, library and internet and access to the networks, opportunities and guidance
that the office and the director offer.
2. To improve capacity and opportunities for professional artists Kuona has supported over 1000
visual artists since 1995, with an alumni of many professional, successful established artists who
use the space as a central resource to support the emerging artists, show their work, teach
workshops, fund artist-led projects and source information and opportunities. Artists can
become isolated whilst working from private studios, Kuona continues to provide a link to the
wider artistic community and a link to all art events both local and international.
3. To increase awareness and appreciation of contemporary Kenyan artists and art Kuona
provides a hub for the public and artists to meet and a service to link the public to artists and art
projects.
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Kuona has had a very busy year both building capacity, increasing connections and support as
well as successfully running a full programme of activities including;
12 conceptual exhibitions, 12 artists' workshops and mentoring sessions, the 11th International
Artists' Workshop, Wasanii 2011 in Naivasha with 20 local and international artists and a visitors,
the completion of the artists' studios, 12 new artists moving into the space, our first corporate
artists' bursary, the Kuona Shop opening, Kuona Wasanii film, the Wasanii brochure and Kuona
book are in the draft stages, a Human Resource Review with new staff appointments, regular
talks and presentations, 6 provincial workshops, 3 provincial residencies and 18 community
projects. Alongside supporting numerous artists with their activities, travel, etc. and offering
help and guidance to art writers, curators, galleries, academics and general members of the
public.
Kuona was particularly busy over the holiday period, with lots of visitors to the studios, lots of
sales for the artists in their studios but also in the shop which was very timely for Christmas
shoppers.
The general atmosphere at Kuona has increased in vibrancy with the 11 new incoming artists
bringing excitment and enlarging the artist community and the increase in studio space. At the
end of the studio contracts, 3 established artists moved out; Michael Soi, Thom Ogonga and
Xavier Verhoest. These artists will of course remain supporters of Kuona, teach workshops and
be involved in projects but they make space for new emerging artists who need to be part of a
community that provide support, mentoring and opportunities.
kuona trust
Mbuthia Maina and Anthony Wanjau’s installation at Tableau 1
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John Silver teaching a group of children
With the amount of projects and support requests, it had become obvious to the Director that
more full time dedicated staff members were required. She initiated an HR review which was
conducted over the whole period culminating in a complete change in the office. See the paragraph on HR review below.
Kuona has slowly but surely been building new relationships with supporters, the public,
schools and businesses and after 3 years in Hurlingham, a focus on marketing has produced
good publicity material, flyers, new systems for mailing list updating and collaborations, the art
centre has become a popular place to visit.
Funding in 2011:
� a grant from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi, Sept 2010 – Aug 2012
� a grant from The African Arts Trust (TAAT), Oct 2011 – Dec 2012
� a grant from Lambent Foundation, July 2011 – June 2012
� The Kuona fundraiser in February 2011 raised 2 million Kenya shillings
� A top up grant to complete the funds needed to build the new gallery from TAAT
� A grant from The African Arts Trust of $40,000 per year for 12 months began in October 2011
with a pledge for 5 years of funding
� Corporate Sponsorship for our Artists' Bursary Scheme from Kobo Safaris to sponsor 3
emerging artists
� Income generating activities such as the Shop, Open Day, commission on sales
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Detailed Report on Activities
Marketing and Corporate Relations
Objective 1: Identify existing gaps and, subsequently, a marketing plan that fits in with the overall
strategy and programming for Kuona Trust. This was important in helping the entire team understand areas where the role of marketing could come in to fill some existing gaps that the other
programmes could not effectively address.
Achievements:
We have developed, a comprehensive marketing plan; a document that guides Kuona�s marketing
and communications strategy. It will ensure that marketing activity is properly focused and
integrated, enabling everyone in the organization to know exactly what will happen and when and
enabling Kuona to take advantage of existing marketing opportunities.
Objective 2: Create and enhance existing audience awareness and education programmes
There is a need to encourage more visitors, particularly the Kenyan public to come into the space,
Report on Activities
engage with Kenyan artists and forge long lasting relationships with them and Kuona Trust.
Achievements:
The marketing and communication strategy used is now focused on the right audience (following
research on demographics). So far we have hosted and developed long term relationships with a
number of high profile visitors. These include the Association of Diplomatic Spouses in Kenya and
dominant players in the event planning industry who are looking to host corporate events within
the space.
Furthermore, the Summer Schools were exceedingly successful as they generated a lot of interest
and participation from the public while our open day (held in December) had the largest and most
diverse audience coming into the space yet.
Our database of contacts has increasingly grown as we have made great attempts to engage with
all visitors and create long lasting relationships with them at all times.
Objective 3: Develop publicity material for Kuona Trust
The aim is to revolutionalise how Kuona is perceived using various approaches. One is to develop
new high quality publicity material that not only represents what Kuona stands for but is also
appealing to the general public.
Achievements:
New publicity material has been developed and distributed in various public areas including restaurants, art spaces and shopping malls. All visitors who come to Kuona Trust are also given the material to take away and distribute (if they can). So far, we have developed new flyers, a promotional
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banner, an advert and book marks. We have also revamped the newsletter to contain more information that would appeal to the general public and encourage them to visit Kuona Trust.
A new website is being constructed and will be completed by April, this delay is due to the length
of time it has taken to find a suitable professional to help create the right website for Kuona. We
have had meetings and got quotes and plans from other 3 different designers to find that none of
them really understood Kuona and had the right ideas to represent the organisation.
The new website will be designed by http://enkaydesigns.com , They are committed to giving
Kuona a site that truly represents the vibrant space that we are using the latest web technology. A
new modern, user friendly website packed with information will be uploaded by end of April 2012.
The Website will have the following features:- Futuristic & graphical layout design
- Interactive photo gallery
- Advertisement banner placement capabilities
- Donation management facility
- Document downloads capabilities (brochures, pamphlets, forms etc)
- Artist Portfolio Management/Presentation
- Newsletter Mailing-list & Archives Management
- The online Kuona Shop
-Links to our other social networking sites
Nyandia from Enkaydesigns has a lot of experience in building websites and working in the design
field. Her organized style of working and knowledgeable presentation highly impressed us. We
have the confidence that she will deliver a website that represents us well.
Kuona Trust book mark
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Capital Campaign for long term Sustainability
Objective 1: Corporate Support and Development Campaign
We developed an artists’ grants scheme whose objective is to invite corporate companies, businesses
and other professionals to provide financial assistance to artists in the form of payment for studio
rent, provision of a daily stipend, compensation for art materials and an exhibition at the end of the
year. The minimum period for a grant is 1 year. We anticipate that this scheme will allow artists to
concentrate on developing their art practice through learning and experimenting without having to
worry about finances.
Achievements
Our very first corporate partner was Kobo Safaris. Through its CEO, Mr. Gabriel Gonzalez, Kobo
selected 3 artists; Cyrus Kabiru, Dennis Muraguri and Sydney Magongo to support for a period of one
year starting February 2012. Kobo will not only provide grants to the three artists but has also committed to exposing them to international audiences. The 3 artists are already busy working on a body of
works that will be exhibited and later auctioned in Spain. Proposals are going out to many more corporates to develop this.
Report on Activities
Objective 2: Art and Business partnership programme
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One of the major corporate companies that we wanted to develop a partnership with was East Africa's
largest media house, The Nation Media Group. A relationship with the group would mean increased
publicity for Kuona and potential support for the visual arts by one of the region's largest and most
influential corporate companies.
Achievements:
After various discussions, Nation committed to sponsoring a region wide Art Competition, similar to
the Turner Prize in the UK by offering prize money of 1,000,000 Kshs to the „best' artist in the East
African region. This would greatly raise the profile of not just Kuona Trust but also the visual arts in the
East African region. Deacons Retail has come on board and the Deacons Annual Art Prize is scheduled
for mid 2013 with members of Kuona on the committee.
Objective 3: Future Arts Sector Capacity Building
The goal is to move from dependability to self sustainability. This requires that we set up ventures and
programmes that would generate income to run Kuona's programmes.
Achievements:
We have set up an art shop which aids artists in selling their works to visitors of Kuona, promotes
Kuona through the branded items such as postcards and prints sold and brings in more visitors who
may simply be looking to buy art or art supplies. With time, we anticipate that this will be a steady
source of revenue for Kuona, revenue that will fund some of our ongoing programmes. So far, we are
optimistic given that since it was opened in mid December, sales have exceeded 70,000kshs.
Internship Programme
Kuona’s internship programme has succeeded in achieving the following Objectives1. To create an opportunity for students who have just finished their studies and/or those in the process
of completing to familiarise themselves with the working environment and gain practical experience;
2. To assist Kuona in its effort and vision of capacity building by empowering young people to gain experience and engage in the arts;
3. To assist in the development of young professionals.
4. To provide a critical bridge between the world of study and the work place for young professionals;
5. To compliment staffing needs.
Resource Centre
The Kuona Trust Art Library has over 2000 art related publications, and we think it is the best art library
in East Africa! We are in the process of updating the library management system so that we can account
for all the reading material as well as implement a membership programme. We hope that the revenue
raised from the membership fees will go towards buying new literature and we have also put out a call
for donations of art books and videos.
Art and Business Partnerships
Brief Overview of Activity
Kuona staff participated in a variety of training courses with KPMG and British Council
Objective
To strengthen the internal capacity of Kuona Trust
Realised results
The Creative Enterprise Programme organized by Strathmore University and British Council was developed as a training program on business management skills for entrepreneurs in the Creative Industry.
The aim of this program is to improve the financial and management skills of entrepreneurs in all
sub-sectors of the Creative Industry (Advertising, Architecture, Art and Antique markets, Broadcasting,
Crafts, Design (Including Fashion), Film, Video and Photography, Software development, computer
games and electronic publishing, Music & the Visual and Performing Arts (incl. Theatre) and Publishing).
One staff member and one of the artists at Kuona Trust participated in this training programme.
Topics that were taught included: So you�re An Entrepreneur, Defining Your Market/Marketing Yourself,
Brand
Building/Communicating Your
Brand,
Negotiation
and
Networks,
Intellectual
Capital/Contracting, Basic Financial Management/Record Keeping, Pricing and Selling Your Product and
Fundamentals of Business Planning.
Cyrus Kabiru at work, one of the Kobo Trust beneficiary
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Community and Education Programmes and Artist Led outreach Projects
Information has been circulated to interested Kenyan artists on what projects they can run using
Kuona funding, these projects include, exhibitions, outreach, educational projects, provincial workshops and mentoring. Many artists have come forward to fill in proposals and work with Kuona staff
to run their own projects with the support of the director and accountant at Kuona. This has generated much excitement and support from the artists in Nairobi and the openess and transparency of
available funding has generated a lot of good will and enthusiasm to work with Kuona.
Wajukuu – a group of artists led by Shabu Mwangi, worked with 30 children to do a public mural in
Mathare slum
Sane Wadu – with his wife Eunice continues to
Nairobi and exhibited at the Belgian Embassy
provide art classes to a huge group of over 50
Kings Day exhibition.
Report on Activities
children on Saturdays and school holidays at their
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studio space in Naivasha. Some of his ex-students
Evanson Kangethe – ran a community public
have gone on to be practicing artists and the students
project in Limuru, working with members of
are brought to Nairobi twice yearly for visits to
the public to make a public statue in the
Kuona, exhibitions and tours of studios and galleries.
market place.
John Silver – is a long standing community artist who
Kevvo Stero (Kevin Irongo) – is a young artist
provides a range of printmaking/art and income
working from Masai Mbili, he is dynamic and
generating classes to young disadvantaged Kenyans
very intelligent and as well as experimenting
in Mukuru Slum. This long standing project provides
in his own work is very community minded.
career opportunities, confidence building and com-
His project brought a group of 15 youths
munity support. One of John�s ex students is Shabu
together to take photographs of their com-
Mwangi, who now runs his own projects andhad a
munity which were exhibited at Masai Mbili.
very successful exhibition this year at Le Rustique in
Sane Wadu with the Satuday Class
Exhibitions
Kuona has continued its programme of experimental exhibitions with various exciting and well attended shows
in the Kuona gallery and the large new communal studio space. These exhibitions attempt to encourage artists
to look at conceptual practice and to address issues close to their hearts. These four exhibitions are some of the
most interesting that Kuona has held in the last few years. This sort of thematic work is still rare in Nairobi as
artists are forced to make more commercial work on a daily basis to survive. Kuona is able to give small production fees for artists to work in different ways and many of the artists who have benefited from this have made
breakthroughs in their practice after these exhibitions and workshops.
Hysterical Injustices
A collaboration that began before the Wasanii International workshop, when Kenyan artist Gor Soudan began
communicating with British African artist Jason Barka and comparing political events in both countries. This was
during the riots in London which led the artists to make comparisons between these riots and the post election
violence. Barka attended Wasanii and remained in Nairobi to produce a series of works with Soudan, Kevvo
Sterro and Anthony Okello, inspired by their conversations and mutual experiences in Naivasha during the
workshop. The works spread between the gallery and project space and created a dialogue with the public who
had to walk between obstacles to move from space to space.
Eyes on Animation
Four artists have been experimenting with the medium animation in their work and with Kuona�s mandate to
encourage artistic experimentation, they were given the opportunity to curate their own animation exhibition.
Artist Peterson Kamwathi created a tiny animation inspired by his „Queue� series that could be shown on a
iphone/tablet as a statement that art can be accessed anywhere. (New very cheap smart phones such as the
IDIOS cost under 8,000 Ksh and are therefore affordable to many Kenyans now.) Andrew Ngoroge collaborated with a hip hop band to make a series of music and political animations; Patrick Mukabi, projected a fast
paced animation of a woman running using the fast sketches he is renowned for. This exhibition culminated in
a workshop and presentation on animation to a large group of artists.
Detail of Gor’s Hysterical installation
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Report on Activities
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Tableau 1
Artists, Mbuthia Maina and Anthony Wanjau spent 2 weeks in the Mount Kenya region, researching the
water tables and documenting and interviewing the illegal trade in hard wood being harvested in the
national reserves, transported to Nairobi and sold for firewood, building timber and for crafts people to
make tourist souvenirs. Mbuthia gave an artist presentation on his ideas during Wasanii and then collaborated with Anthony Wanjau, who comes from the Central Province near Mount Kenya. They created an installation using charcoal, glass, mirrors, wood and water and the accompanying text that took the form of a
descriptive email to a friend. This exhibition was developed alongside a strong online presence as the artists
discussed and posted images of their progress building their audience online first before attending the opening. “ Tableau I is a multiple installation conceptual art exhibition about the environment by two Kenyan
artists Mbuthia Maina and Anthony Wanjau. The body of work, itself a work in progress, is a symbolic interplay of selected natural elements- water, wind, earth and fire- that affect us as a society and how our own
lifestyles affect the very same elements. For the purposes of this project, the artists aim to explore by way of
travel documentation, sculpture, painting and multimedia installation, the present state of Kenya’s five
largest water towers-Mau, Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, Mt. Elgon,Cherangani. This exhibition is also a recognition
of the significance of the water table that exists beneath our very earth and that we rarely get to see. It is also
recognition of the power of contemporary art initiatives and artists to make a difference in our day-to-day
lives.”said Mbuthia Maina at the exhibition
Koroga 2
Launched on the evening of the Kuona Trust Open Day, a group of photographers, writers and performance poets, were asked by Kuona to hold their second exhibition at Kuona Trust. This group are new
visitors to Kuona, their first exhibition and publication, Koroga 1 responded to the political situation in
Kenya and Korogo 2 was the sequel. Photographers and writers collaborated to make a single piece of
work that was projected inside and outside the Kuona gallery to a packed audience of new visitors, such as
John Githongo and other dignitaries. http://koroga.tumblr.com/exhibitions
Landscapes of the Mind
An exhibition by the St. Aloysius of Gonzaga Secondary School artists
landscape in different from their imaginations.
This is the 2nd annual exhibit of the students of St. Aloysius of Gonzaga Secondary school at Kuona, they
are a very underprivileged school in Kibera and having access to Kuona and exposure to art as well as an
opportunity to show their work in a professional gallery has been an extraordinary confidence building and
valued experience according to their teachers and volunteer teachers.
Exhibition educational Programme
All the exhibitions had an educational aspect to them with visiting schools, St Andrews Turi, Riara,
Braeburn, Hillcrest, State House Girls and ISK bringing over a hundred secondary pupils visiting the exhibi-
‘
pupils from Riara attending educational Programme
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Report on Activities
Art Training
Anthony Okello explaining free drawing
Summer School Workshops July 2011
Brief Overview of activity: Summer art school programmes are usually organized by colleges, museums and
art schools and are scheduled for the summer holidays (usually June-August). Kuona Trust decided to
appropriate the name and the concept for a series of workshops in July. The workshops were led by master
artists on a variety of visual art topics and were complemented by discussions and talks by some of Africa's
most highly revered „Art Legends'.
Information on Indicators: A total of 8 workshops and 4 legend talks covering a wide range of techniques
and professional skills designed for emerging artists, established artists and art students in Nairobi.
Number of people reached / Who benefited / Did we intend to reach these numbers: Although registration
for the workshops was at full capacity, we had a number of no shows and ended up with a total of 60
participants out of a possible 92.
Has it achieved its Objectives: The main objective which was to offer emerging and established artists an
opportunity to interact with and acquire new skills from some of Kenya's leading artists was realised. Feedback from the participants was extremely positive with many advocating for similar programmes in future.
Realised results: Participants gained new skills, had their final artworks exhibited at the Kuona gallery
during the open day and walked away with a certificate of participation from Kuona Trust. The general
consensus from the students was that they would be happy to participate in future workshops and highly
recommend this programme to others.
Changes in relationship with others: The project established a new interactive forum between emerging
and established professional artists in Nairobi. It also marks the beginning of new relationships between
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emerging artists and Kuona Trust.
Dennis Maingi instructing photoshop students
Second Summer School, February 2012
Brief overview of activity:
Week-long daily workshops led by master artists on a variety of visual art topics with a theme of collaborations;
Casting & Molding; Painting; Photoshop; Conceptual Painting; Print-making; Life Drawing.
Output/Results
The workshops were well attended and over 60 participants gained new skills. Each facilitator instructed the
class to produce a final collaborative piece which we exhibited during the afternoon social on the last day. On
this day the workshop participants provided feedback which was particularly positive and many advocating
for similar programmes in future. They also requested that the instructions be longer sessions - more days – so
they could go in depth into the techniques of the practice.
Objectives:
To give the established artists an opportunity to interact with emerging artists and art enthusiasts, as well as
provide an introduction to techniques of working in different mediums.
Indicators:
Artists, institutions and the general public are frequently asking Kuona Trust for instruction in different creative
techniques.
Realised results:
An exhibition of collaborative works made by workshops participants and numerous requests for more workshops at all levels and for all ages. New relationships created between Kuona artists and visiting emerging
artists.
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Report on Activities
moving the existing containers to make space for new studios inbetween
Building the new Studios and fundraising for Gallery
The new studios were finally completed in September and 12 new spaces were allocated to 12 emerging
artists, who moved in in October. This increased the number of artists in the space to 40, there is a waiting
list of artists looking to rent studio space at Kuona.
We have raised $10,500 towards the building of the new gallery, unfortunately the cost of building materials have increased and we are still looking for alternative builders or alternative materials to build a semi
permanent gallery. Another fundraising event is in the planning stages, the Trustees and new staff will be
brainstorming on how to follow up the previous event and in the meantime, Kuona is sourcing new
contractors and new innovative ways of building a gallery.
The ticket buyers from the fundraiser in February, who are Kuona's target audience, are receiving regular
updates and images of the buildings and will be invited to a cocktail to view the results of their support. In
this way we hope to persuade them to commit to buy art and support artists in the future. Building Kenyan
art audiences is the biggest challenge in Kenya as most locals do not support the arts, largely because they
were not exposed to art at school and so are either not aware or intimidated by it.
Catalogues, films and books
The first draft of the Kuona catalogue is done, with images gathered from all over Nairobi and writing from
Thom Ogonga, Michael Soi, Margaretta wa Gacheru, Wendy Karmali, Rob Burnet, Peterson Kamwathi,
Jimmy Ogonga amongst others. Once the first print run is done, we will post copies to you with the Wasanii
short film which is complete and is being distributed to donors and artists at the moment. The resource
centre continues to collect new contemporary publications and there will be a need to update the comput-
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ers in the library but we do not have funds for this.
Provincial workshops and residencies
These workshops offer provincial artists an opportunity to learn a range of art making and business
skills from established Nairobi based artists and a chance for Kuona to identify artists from each place
who would benefit from doing a one month residency at Kuona.
Kuona has held 6 artists' workshops in the provinces; Kisumu, Kitui, Mombasa, Malindi, Ngecha and
Nanyuki and identified artists from each place who will come to Kuona for a one month residencies
We tried to select places that have an existing art space or some infrastructure which can offer facilities to artists after the workshop, these workshops also help the administrators of the provincial
spaces to learn from Kuona's more experienced administrators as well as artists;
Detailed report of the most recent Provincial workshops in Nanyuki and Malindi below
Malindi - 27th February – 3rd March 2012
Master Artists: Meshack Oiro, Maryanne Muthoni, Jonathan Muchekehu, Omosh Kindeh
Participants: Charles Kyalo, David Opanga, Gibson Malingi, Moses Kitsao, Mtawali Gamumu, Samson
Said Tinga, Elvina H. Getwa, Peter Waleh, Tom Baraka David, Onesimus Odumbe Getwa.
Brief overview of activity:
The technical workshop experience is taken into the provinces through provincial workshops. Kuona
is concerned that artists in the provinces don't always have the opportunities their peers in Nairobi do.
Kuona sends 2-4 master artists from Nairobi to work with artists and arts organizations in the various
regions. The workshops involve working with artists from the region to improve their skills and
support networks and during the open day at the end of the workshop, to raise awareness amongst
the local community of the importance of art as well.
Introduction
The Malindi provincial workshop was conducted with support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy
and the National Museum of Kenya in Malindi, Mr Ghazal Swaleh, Senior Curator at Malindi Museum
was very keen to help support the visual artists in Malindi.
Objectives:
To assess the needs of artists in rural/costal communities as well as to establish an regional artistic
community for Kuona Trust for future associations. To challenge artists within tourist communities to
engage in forms of art other than tourist art and to help them make distinctions between art and curio
craft so as to further their professionalism.
Output/Realised results:
The 10 artists that participated in this workshop learnt new skills during the week. They explored new
ways to incorporate new media into their artistic practice, and different ways to present themselves
to different audiences and expand their markets as artists in the different Coastal regions. By the last
day of the workshops ten artists were determinedly involved in the process and we identified a
number of artists whom we would encourage to participate in a residency programme at Kuona Trust.
At the end of the workshop, the artists community was invited to view the completed work.
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Report on Activities
20
Participants of the Malindi Workshop
Participating artists had the opportunity to critique each others unique pieces.
Indicators:
The exhibition created a platform for artist to discuss their craft, learn more innovative ways to use the
limited materials they have at hand and to establish themselves in a professional arts community. They
also had the opportunity to establish a system of mentorship where more mature artists could find ways
to mentor their younger colleagues and at the same time establish ways to share their artistic experience
and to learn from other artists.
Number of people reached / who benefited / did we intend to reach these numbers:
There are no artistic collaborative groups in Malindi, as artists tend to work remotely in their own spaces.
Malindi population of artists are roughly 200 people, 10 artists attended the workshop with other interested artists visiting regularly. 20 members of the public visited the artists in the course of the workshop
and the open day though we had hoped to reach about 100 members of the public, the museum had
promised to contact the public but were unorganised and this didn't happen.
Nanyuki - 27th February – 3rd March 2012
Master Artists: John Silver, Kevin Oduor, Jonathan Muchekehu, Jacquie Karuti – Artist
Brief overview of activity:
The Nanyuki Provincial Outreach workshop was a five day workshop targeted at artists working in and
around the Nanyuki area. The workshop was based at the Lily Pond Arts Centre which is a new community arts centre based a few kilometres outside Nanyuki town. Lily Pond put out a call to various
artists around the Nanyuki community and received twenty participants of all age groups, 7 women
and 13 men. Of these about 50% were students and the other half were practicing artists and most of
the practicing artists were affiliated with a known arts group within Nanyuki known as Mitumba Arts
who specialise in recycled materials using found objects.
Output/Results
The artists learned skills in drawing & sketching, casting & moulding, painting and printmaking as well
as discussing at length professionalism and marketing in art. At the end of the week they held a
successful open day with up to 150 members of the Nanyuki community.
Objectives:
To assess the needs of artists in rural communities as well as to establish an outreach community for
Kuona Trust for future associations.
Indicators:
The exhibition created a platform for artists to discuss their craft, learn more innovative ways to use
the limited materials the have at hand and to establish themselves in a professional arts community.
They also had the opportunity to establish a system of mentorship where more mature artists could
find ways to mentor their younger colleagues and at the same time establish ways to share their artistic experience and to learn from other artists.
Realised results:
20 artists participated in this workshop during the week and they explored new ways to sell work, and
different ways to present themselves to different audiences and expand their markets as artists.
Participants of the Nanyuki Workshop- Lily Ponds
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Local and International Residencies
local Residencies
3 artists were selected from the provincial workshops in Kisumu, Kitui and Mombasa, and attended a
one month residency at Kuona where they engaged with Nairobi artists, gave presentations, attended
events, completed 2 mentoring and business of art workshops and had an end of residency exhibition
in November.
A quote from Chege Kariuki, artist from Mombasa
“Foremost, I thank the institution’s management for the warm reception, space, financial support and
encouragement throughout the entire period. I feel deeply indebted to my fellow artists for their continuous encouragement, technical/production skills, cooperation, support and positive interaction, with
others helping with materials, tools and equipment. I pay tribute to the vision, mission and objectives of
Kuona as it strives to satisfy the needs of the artists i.e. space, encouragement, support, enlightenment
Report on Activities
and promotion of art through its artists. In conclusion, the residency was a success.”
Participants of the Malindi Workshop
End of residency exhibition
International Residencies
Sam Githui and Victor Mutelekesha from Zambia, funded by OCA, Norway collaborated on a public art
project a thin line between art and activism' in Nairobi city centre, a film will follow shortly.
Anke Shaffer, BKVB funded artist from Germany was in residence for 2 months culminating in her
conducting a series of performance art workshops and hosting 2 open evenings in July.
Emma Smith, who won the Commonwealth Foundation award, began her residency at Kuona but due
to her mother's ill health has had to return to UK and will come back in 2012 to complete her residency.
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3 international artists have been selected to participate in a residency at Kuona June – July 2012, from
Mozambique, South Africa and The Netherlands.
Kuona Trust Open Day
In a space of just 3 years, The Kuona Trust Open Days have become a key event, providing a multifaceted platform that supports open engagement between Kenyan artists and the public.
Over the years, this day has enlisted loyal support from thousands of people from Kenya and around
the world and with each year, our challenge is to meet their growing expectations while attracting
new audiences. Our last open day achieved just that. Held on Saturday 11th December, it proved to be
one of the most interesting and well attended yet. Well over three hundred people were attracted
into the space by our line up of activities which included drawing workshops, writing workshops,
storytelling sessions, activities for children and the launch of a two Koroga II exhibition.
Other highlights of the day included the launch of the Kuona Shop and the presence of The Nafasi Art
Space, a Tanzania based organisation with a similar mandate to Kuona.
Theater Company perform during the open day
Dennis Muranguri’s workshop at the Open Day
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Kuona Trust Art Shop
The Kuona shop was established with 3 main objectives in mind:
1. It would provide artists with an alternative avenue to showcase and sell their work.
2. It would enhance Kuona's profile by diversifying its „product offer' to the public.
3. It would provide another source of income to sustain Kuona's programmes.
The Kuona Art Shop was officially opened on 10 December 2011, during the Open Day. It offers a collection of artworks: paintings, sculptures, handmade cards, T-shirts, art materials, books including the
2012 Kenya Art Diary and Wall Art in Kenya by Arvind Vohora.
Since then, the turnover of the clients has been exceptionally impressive, especially during the December holidays, as most of the Artworks, handmade cards, diaries and calendars were sold. The month of
January was slower but sales have improved since then and we hope will pick up throughout the year.
In order to boost the shop revenue, we hope to target the Kuona artists by providing them with art
materials that they use regularly at cost price saving them the time and expense of purchasing them
elsewhere.
Report on Activities
Kuona artists have played a great role in providing the stock for the shop, and in return have had most
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of their items sold! In the long run, we hope that the shop will be an generate good revenue for us.
It is hoped that with time, the shop will draw large numbers of visitors into the space and subsequently
operate as one among several other ways in which we can fundraise for programmes.
The Kuona shop
The Artists
Artists have exhibited widely during the period at Kuona, the National Museum, Alliance Francaise,
Goethe Institute and Village Market Exhibition hall, One Off Gallery, Spherique, Zanzibar and Le
Rustique, Osteria and Talisman restaurants. Artists have also carried out large commissions around
Nairobi including;
Kevin Oduor's diarama for Lewa Downs Conservancy.
Mosoti Kepha's nine sculptures for the new Kaya Spa at the Tribe Hotel, Nairobi.
Fred Abuga's 18 paintings and prints for the new cancer ward at the Aga Khan Hospital.
Kevin Oduor's sculpture farewell gift to Willie Mutunga, new Kenyan Chief Justice and former
head of the Ford Foundation.
Peterson Kamwathi, Ato Malinda and Sam Hopkins all alumni from Kuona Trust published mono
graphs of their work with the Goethe Institute.
Otieno Kota collaborated with Megumi Matsubara, who was visiting Nairobi Arts Trust on a
residency. They did a public art project in Kibera that was featured on Another Africa
www.anotherafrica.net/interviews/stra-stories-for-one-another which was written by Marina
Cashdan, a New York based arts writer who visited Kuona and gave a presentation.
GTZ have donated a container for Kuona artist, Xavier Verhoest's outreach project Art2Be which is
now housed at Kuona.
Peterson Kamwathi, long time Kuona artist, has had a brilliant year, exhibiting worldwide and
attracting a lot of international attention with his work being sold to private collections in
Europe. He is always a postitive example and a great mentor to the emerging artists in the space.
Michael Soi, reknowned for his paintings on corruption and politics was commissioned to make
17 paintings for UHAI, a human rights watchdog organisation.
Kenyan artists who have travelled internationally are listed below:
Ato Malinda - Nigeria
Jimmy Ogonga – Egypt, South Africa
Peterson Kamwathi – Finland,
Xavier Verhoest - Ethiopia
Yassir Ali – Finland, Zanzibar
Thom Ogonga - UK
Bertiers - Finland
James Muriuki - Finland
Prina Shah – Finland
Patrick Mukabi – Finland, South Africa
Miriam Kyambi - Finland
Omosh Kindeh – The Netherlands
Cyrus Nganga – The Netherlands
Sylvia N Gichia – Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone
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Report on Activities
Wanja Kimani and Dennis Muranguri on the group canvas
The 11th Wasanii International Artists Workshop, Naivasha, August 2011
Wasanii is modeled on the Triangle Network workshops and is a cultural project bringing together
artists from different countries with the aim of facilitating and developing artistic practice in the host
country whilst building networks and encouraging peer to peer exchange. Normally, the workshops
have between 20 and 25 artists with half being local while the other half representing the rest of the
world following an application process and rigorous selection by a working group of artists.
Since 1997, Kuona Trust has organized 10 similar workshops in Naivasha, Lamu, Mombasa and Nairobi
with over 120 international and 200 local participants.
Recently, with artists requiring more than simply technical skills to remain competitive in the global
art scene, the workshop structure has been adapted to include both technical aspects of art making
while introducing the participants to current trends (contemporary practices) and encouraging
experimental and research-based practices.
This years' Wasanii “In Conversation”, emphasised discussion, dialogue and debate - encouraging
conversation around international artists' practice and the demand in the shift of artist roles from just
being studio artists to taking more proactive approaches in their practice while understanding the
dynamics of different global contexts.
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For 2 weeks, artists and writers working in various disciplines shared ideas, experiences inspired by
the context of living at the Elsamere Conservation Centre in Naivasha, the original home of Joy and
George Adamson, conservationists and writers, best known for the books and films about Elsa the
lioness. Naivasha has a large lakeside migrant community working predominantly for the huge flower
farms which supply most of the world's imported cut roses. The artists visited the town, flower farms
etc and much of their artwork responded to issues of displaced communities, the environmental
effects of monoculture in agriculture, tourism, water rights, landownership and access to lake water
and conservation.
21 artists - Landry Mbassi (Cameroon), Ephrem Solomon (Ethiopia), Margaretha Schöning (Germany),
Jason Gray (UK), Temitayo Ogunbiyi (USA),Jigna Padhiar (India), Victoria Udondian (Nigeria), Resta
Nyamwanza (Zimbabwe),Simbah Pile (Barbados), Gadi Ramadhani (Tanzania), Anna Christina
Lorenzen(Norway), Madiha Sikander (Pakistan) and Wanja Kimani, Otieno Gomba, Kevin Irungu, Gor
Soudan, Sidney Mang’ong’o, Anthony Okello & Willie Wambugu from Kenya took part.
During the workshop, 4 visitors were scheduled to give presentations and critique the workshop
output. They are listed below under collaborations. The workshop ended with an Open Day on Saturday 27th August, when over 200 members of the public from Naivasha and Nairobi joined the artists
in celebrating the outcome of the two weeks.
Jide Jones’ talk at Wasanii
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Collaborations
� Deacons, the major Kenyan clothing and home retail company made up of shops such as Woolworths, Truworths, Mr Price and Baby amongst others in Kenya has sought advice from Kuona to
collaborate on an Annual art prize, following on from the research done by Damaris and Danda, this
prize is set to begin in 2013 with support from Deacons and the National Media group.
� As usual, Kuona staff and artists have attended all visual arts events around Nairobi and we are working closely with Osei Kofi the new director of Gallery Watatu and discussing staff exchanges for Kuona
staff to learn more about commercial gallery shows;
� Carol Lees, One Off Gallery gave her support and experience to the Kuona shop and shows Kuona
artists in her gallery;
� The Valdor Trust are still discussing possible collaboration and potential support of the new gallery;
� Maasii Mbili artists, Mbuthia Maina as well as Nairobi photographers, writers and poets, collaborated with Kuona artists on exhibitions;
� Lydia Galavu, curator for the National Museum has given 4 exhibitions for Kuona artists.
� Camilla Wekesa, artist and art supporter has invited Kuona staff to artists� events and brainstorming
sessions and is showing Kuona artists at her exhibitions, she and Danda have attended Embassy
events and art think tanks together;
Report on Activities
� Jimmy Ogonga, The Nairobi Art Trust, Sylvia Squaglini, Lisson Gallery, London; Jide Jones, Nigerian
Photographer, Yazmany Arboleda, Columbian artist came to Wasanii as invited guests to give presentations and support the workshop artists;
� Gonda Geets, Curator, Will Janssen, Director of Hivos, East Africa and Maggie Otieno, Arterial
Network, interviewed new staff for Kuona;
� The Arterial Network has moved its East African Secretariat to Kuona Trust in February with Maggie
Otieno running the office, giving presentations and planning future collaborations.
� The Director attended the Arterial Network Seminar in Nairobi in December 2011 and reconnected
with many like minded arts organisations across Africa.
� African Colours moved their office to Kuona Trust at the beginning of 2012.
� Samantha di Ripa Meana, curator of Roots Contemporary Gallery, Brussels is mentoring some
emerging artists at Kuona and has exhibited 3 Kuona artists work in Brussels, her gallery at home in
Nairobi and the Belgian Embassy, Nairobi.
� Art moves Africa www.artmovesafrica.org funded 5 of the African artists from Cameroon, Ethiopia,
Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Nigeria who came to Kuona to participate in the Wasanii International
Artists� workshop in Naivasha, August 15-27.
� Hivos, hanging Kuona artists� paintings in their offices
� Due to the increase in events and activities, Kuona is become a hub for meeting other members of
the art community who regularly attend talks and exhibitions.
� Danda Jaroljmek was invited to the Triangle Network conference, Networked: Dialogue and
Exchange in the Global Art Ecology; in November where she gave a speech on the difficulties for
networks in Africa, Kuona continues to work closely with Triangle to share opportunities for artists.
� Danda was also invited to the Sharjah Art Foundation biannual March Meeting to give a talk on alternative art spaces, residenties and workshops – a life line for artists in countries without art education.
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Wasanii 2011
Kuona HR Review
There have been major changes in the management at Kuona. Initiated by the need to build more capacity in
the office, we commissioned an HR review with long term partners PEN (Poverty Eradication Network). In the
past, funded by the Ford Foundation, PEN has helped Kuona and many of the arts organisations in Nairobi
with strategic planning and organisational reviews so they agreed to work with us for a subsidised fee.
Following their recommendations and approved by the Kuona Trustees, we created four full time positions in
the office and sought help from some of our Kenyan partners to help look for new staff and to interview them
with the Director. Will Janssen, Director of Hivos, East Africa; Maggie Otieno, East African secretariat for the
Arterial Network and Gonda Geets, Tandala Productions.
We have appointed Sylvia Gichia to be the new Director, Ato Malinda in the new role of Programme and Marketing Officer, Ernest Ngungu as Financial Officer and Renee Mboya as Office Administrator. Danda Jaroljmek is to
remain as a consultant for 6 months, working up to 2 days a week to support Sylvia and the team.
Sylvia N Gichia has had a studio at Kuona for 3 years, she has the support of the artists, is clever, resourceful,
tough, diplomatic, well connected and most importantly is dedicated to Kuona, she impressed all the interviewers very much.
Ato Malinda participated in the Kuona International artists' workshop in Mombasa, UrbanWasanii 2008, she
has some exciting ideas for new programmes, she is very keen on art education, theoretical training for
emerging artists and audience building and has a strong international art network.
Renee Mboya, comes with experience at Kwani Trust, Gallery Watatu and Generation Kenya, she writes a
HR review
regular column for the Standard and comes highly recommended.
We are glad to have administrators who have an artistic background as I feel they will create even stronger
ties and more involvement with the artists.
New staff biographies:
Sylvia N Gichia - Director.
Sylvia was born in Nairobi, Kenya where spent a good part of her life before moving to America for her higher
education. In 2000, Sylvia graduated with a Master's degree in Business Marketing from Georgia State University, GA. In 2002 she returned to college to study photography and graduated with a Degree in Photography.
Since then she has been photographing for some of Kenya's top organisations and international brands.
Some of her recent clients have included The World Bank, National Geographic, Care International, Christian
Blind Mission, AGRA, AECF, Microsoft Africa, Reuters, New York Times and the Smithsonian.
Sylvia has also been working in variety art fields for 9 years locally and internationally, and has now amassed
a wide range of skills. She has a passion for the arts and in the recent years, has managed to build good
networks and relationships with the local artist community. The Directorship is an opportunity she feels will
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give her a chance to build a long-term artistic vision for Kuona as well as help raise the level and quality of
the local art scene. Her current role at Kuona, managing current programmes and developing ideas for new
activities has given her a good understanding of her new role in the organisation.
She brings along a wide range of experience in leadership and management which will be of great value to
Kuona. Sylvia's strong leadership qualities, combined with her organisational and excellent communicative
skills provide a strong foundation that will be beneficial to Kuona.
Ato Malinda – Programme and Marketing Officer Ato was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1981 and grew up in the
Netherlands, Kenya and the USA. She studied Art History and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas
in Austin. She subsequently moved back to Kenya where she began her professional practice as a painter
and now works in the mediums of performance, drawing, painting, installation and video, and also as a freelance curator. Malinda has been a practising artist for the last eight years and has travelled extensively and
exhibited throughout Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. She has also worked as an arts facilitator in Eastern
Africa and the UK, empowering disempowered, young African women. She will begin her Masters in Fine
Arts at Transart Institute in July 2012 long distance. Working as the Programme and Marketing Officer for
Kuona Trust, Malinda will endeavour to elevate the standards of contemporary Kenyan art by engaging
artists in conceptual dialogue through educational programmes. She will expand the use of the Kuona Trust
library, exploring its full potential. And together with Sylvia Gichia, the incoming Director, she will engage
the Kenyan public with contemporary art by involving Kuona Trust in public art and community art projects
around Kenya.
Renee Mboya – Office Administrator A native of Nairobi city, Renee comes to Kuona Trust with six years
experience in administration and management for theatre, performance and visual arts. With a background
in Law and Politics, her interest in art is directed beyond the aesthetics to the more social political implications of building a strong artistic culture within our communities (she hopes to write about this someday).
She has worked with Kwani Trust, Gallery Watatu and most recently the Generation Kenya project and has
Ernest Ndungu Kamara was born and raised in Nairobi and comes to Kuona Trust with a wealth of practice
in finance, administration and accounts. A graduate of Finance from the Catholic University of East Africa
and as a CPA-K, Earnest hopes to bring his experience from the public service to the arts world.
Kuona Staff Training
Patrick Murage, Kuona's previous accountant, was given a scholarship to attend the prestigious Kennedy
Centre for the performing Arts in Washington, 3 year Summer School for arts administrators.
Damaris Agweyu attended the British Council subsidised Creative Enterprise 2 week course which Sylvia had
completed the previous year
HR review
a weekly column (unrelated to the arts) in the Standard Newspaper.
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Conclusion/Summary
2011 – 2012 has seen staff and artists at Kuona have gone through a period of change and evaluation.
Understanding that a reliance on international donors is dwindling, we have focused much of our
work in the last year on building and educating audiences, networking, collaborating, marketing
and connecting with corporates. Our investment from Mimeta was given on the understanding that
Kuona was looking for long term sustainability through collaboration, marketing, increased
audience development, corporate partnerships, capacity building in the sector. We are working
hard at these areas, as can be seen in the report but there is always much more to do, building these
relationships takes time and regular communication to push home the message.
Our major hurdle last year, was there were not enough full time staff in the office to focus on the
long term strategy whilst carrying out the day to day running of Kuona and the planned
programmes. But with support from the artist community and our collaborators much has been
achieved and with the new full time team this capacity has increased dramatically. Alongside the
staff, we have had 2 interns from local universities working in the office with the hope they will complete their studies and aim to work in the arts. New HR and Finance manuals have been completed
to produce more efficient systems for the organisation.
We have worked closely with other arts organisations and PEN to create a business and marketing
plan to focus on income generation and corporate support. The shop, workshops, the schools
education programme, office rentals as well as studio rentals at Kuona, the new studios and the
artist busary scheme have all begun to bring in income to supplement the grants. More corporates
will see the success of the Kobo programme and I hope, support more artists. It takes time to
continue Kenyan businesses to support artists but with one project working well, this will help to
convince others.
The public events, Summer schools, Open Days and Kuona's participation in local events has
increased our audiences and we are seeing many more visitors to the space. Having The Arterial
Network and African Colours at Kuona has already seen new visitors and potential supporters
through the gates.
conclusion
Damaris's marketing work (which Ato will continue), to create the marketing plan and produce and
improve means of communication, through the newsletter, leaflets, the Kuona book, merchandising in the shop, have built more awareness for Kuona. We have had problems developing the new
website but through Sylvia's efforts a new web developer has been found and the new interactive
website will be complete in June.
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We have had an increase in press coverage and press visiting Kuona's artists and exhibitions and we
have more coverage and presence in magazines, newsletters and listings across Kenya for the arts.
It is my belief that Kuona will be able to build and develop local support through its many contacts,
collaborators and supporters but that we still need more time and donor support to guide us for
another 2 years until these relationships mature and models such as the artist busary from the Kobo
Foundation are proven to be successful.
Building relationships with corporates and individuals and breaking down competitiveness amongst
fellow arts organisations, who have up till now, had to compete for the same funding, takes longer
than a couple of years. Relationships, trust and the time to prove the value of supporting artists,
when traditional forms of philanthropy, supporting children, health etc still take precedence,
requires slow and steady convincing. There is huge oodwill internationally and locally for Kuona
Trust, at the recent Triangle Network conference, the Director was amazed at how well known
Kuona is internationally and how many people wanted to meet and offer suggestions and support
for the Trust.
Kuona needs to bring in new board members who can help with its long term sustainability, for
many years the board have been largely inactive and despite activitely finding new board members
these have not fulfilled their original promise and need to resign and find replacements. In her new
consultancy role, the previous director's first task is board development and to work with the new
manager of African Colours who has experience in building boards to find new Trustees and create
a working TOR with specific tasks for them.
Danda Jaroljmek March 2012
strategy map
strategy map
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invites
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invites
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invites
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invites
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invites
MOMBASA PROVINCIAL WORKSHOP: 4-8 JULY
KUONA TRUST SUMMER SCHOOL 2011: 11-23 JULY
LIFE, DEATH, HOPE & FREEDOM, PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW BY JAY PATEL: 26 JULY-14 AUG
WASANII INTERNATIONALWORSHOP 2011 "IN CONVERSATION" : 14th-28th AUGUST
KUONA BLOG
Directors Chat...
The studio building is coming up fast, we should have our three big new studio spaces
completed by July 22nd. There have been some exciting moments, particularly when
the giant crane lifted Michael Soi and Fred Abuga's studio container high into the sky
to reposition it, fortunately the artists had vacated first! The builders have moved in with
us to save travel time and have become part of the family enjoying our exhibition
openings and parties. The building of the new gallery is scheduled for August, courtesy
of the Kuona Fundraiser this February and commission from the sale of
Arvind Vohora's book 'Wall Art of Kenya'.
The first Kuona 'Summer School', from 11-23 July is ready to roll. Most of the master
classes are full and we have artists and students from all over Nairobi taking part. I am
particularly looking forward to listening to our 'Legends' talking, Sane Wadu, Jak
Katarikawe, Osei Kofi and Bertiers. Please try to join us for these talks, they are free
e - newsletter
July 2011 E-News
What's hot at Kuona!
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website extracts
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website extracts