Eastern Africa

Kenya

Art Makers (57)
Art Spaces (15)
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Kenya’s name derives from Mt. Kirinyaga, which means ‘mountain of whiteness’ for the Kikuyu people who lived around the area. For many centuries goods from Arabian and Asian traders, who established the first colonies, have entered the territory due to its proximity to the Arabian Peninsula, along with the Nilotic and Bantu people, who mainly settled inland. Evolving from a mixture of Bantu and Arabic, the Swahili language developed as a trade language between the different groups. The Portuguese arrived in 1498, but in the 1600s the Imam of Oman gained back its dominance. Kenya then emerged from the establishment of a British protectorate and the subsequent Kenya Colony. During this period members of the Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, and Kamba tribes gathered together to fight for freedom, giving birth to the Mau Mau Movement. The movement led to constitutional reforms and finally independence, in 1963. Today Kenyans proudly embrace their individual cultures and traditions, while celebrating the importance of national solidarity through the motto of “Harambee” (“Pulling together” in Swahili). Especially rituals and customs from the country’s rich tradition are very well documented, thanks to an intense anthropological study of Kenya’s peoples during the period of British colonial rule.

Artists in Kenya

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AfricaKenya

Kenya

Art Makers (57)
Art Spaces (15)
Cities Art and about
AFRICA Read the card
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Art makers in Kenya
There is a time and a place, Jonathan Gathaara Sölanke Fraser, circle art agency, art and about africa, contemporary african art, artmap, african art map, art map africa
Artist

Jonathan Gathaara Sölanke Fraser

Nairobi
Artist

Letion Ketienya

Nairobi
Artist

Cephas Mutua Muthini
Photographer

Kelvin Kariithi

Mombasa
Photographer

Sarah Waiswa

Nairobi
Artist

Naitiemu Nyanjom
Artist

Vaghela Gemini

Nairobi
Artist

Pascal Chuma

Nairobi
Artist

Jerry Timbwah

Maseno
Margaret Ngigi, sherie secret, art and about africa, contemporary african art, artmap, african art map, art map africa
Photographer

Margaret Njeri Ngigi

Nairobi
Artist

Joseph Baraka

Nairobi
Artist

Solomon Powell

Nairobi
Artist

Jimmy Kitheka

Nairobi
Artist

Samuel Githui

Nairobi
Artist

Joseph Mbiyu

Nairobi
Artist

Brian Kimani

Nairobi
Photographer

Jesse Otumba

Nairobi
Artist

Musah Mwakelemu

Mombasa
Artist

John Ndumia

Karimeni
Artist

Grace Ndiritu

Nairobi
Artist

George Kamiti

Nairobi
Artist

Jackie Karuti

Nairobi
Photographer

Jebet Naava

Nairobi
Artist

Jim Chuchu

Nairobi
Artist | Curator

Jimmy Ogonga

Mombasa
Curator

Kawira Mwirichia (dead)

Athi River
Artist

Lincoln Mwangi

Nairobi
Artist

Michael Soi

Nairobi
Artist

Michael Musyoka

Nairobi
Artist

Miriam Syowia Kyambi

Nairobi
Photographer

Osborne Macharia

Nairobi
Artist

Richard Onyango

Malindi
Artist

Dennis Muraguri

Nairobi
Artist

Onyis Martin

Nairobi
Artist

Patti Endo

Nairobi
Artist

David Thuku

Nairobi
Artist

Churchill Ongere

Nairobi
Artist

Muriuki Jemes

Nairobi
Artist

Mwangi Hutter

Nairobi
Artist

Mimi Cherono Ng'ok

Nairobi
Artist

Peterson Kamwathi

Nairobi
Artist

Shabu Mwangi

Nairobi
Artist

Beatrice Wanjiku

Nairobi
Artist

Wambui Nduhiu

Nairobi
Artist

Kaloki Nyamai

Nairobi
Artist

Clinton Artisto

Nairobi
Artist

Longinos Nagila

Nairobi
Artist

Paul Onditi

Nairobi
Artist

Peteros Ndunde

Nairobi
Artist

Richard Kimathi

Nairobi
Artist

Robin Mbera

Ongata Rongai
Photographer

Teddy Mitchener

Nairobi
Artist

Alex Wainaina
Artist

Kevin Ndege
Artist

Benson Gitari

Diani Beach
Artist

Boniface Maina

Nairobi
Artist

Cyrus Kabiru

Nairobi
Events in Kenya
There is a time and a place, Jonathan Gathaara Sölanke Fraser, circle art agency, art and about africa, contemporary african art, artmap, african art map, art map africa
Exhibition

There is a time and a place by Jonathan Gathaara Sölanke Fraser

Nairobi
Surafel Amare, circle art agency, art and about africa
Exhibition

Addis Contemporary II (6 years on)

Nairobi
Exhibition

Group show: selected artists from Kenya, Uganda & Sudan

Nairobi
Festival

Nairobi Design Week

Nairobi
Art spaces in Kenya
Collective

The Kobo Trust

Nairobi
Collective

The Nest Collective

Nairobi
Collective

Brush Tu Collective

Nairobi
Collective

Space 65

Mombasa
Art Centre

Art Orodha Kenya

Karimeni
Art Gallery

One Off Art Gallery

Nairobi City
Collective

The GoDown Arts Centre

Nairobi
Collective

Kuona Artists Collective

Nairobi
Art Gallery

The Little Art Gallery

Nairobi
Art Centre

The Shifteye Gallery

Nairobi
Art Gallery

Banana Hill Art Gallery

Nairobi
Art Gallery

Circle Art Gallery

Nairobi
Art Gallery

Diani Beach Art Gallery

Kwale
Museum

National Gallery

Nairobi
Museum

National Museum of Kenya

Nairobi
Cities in Kenya
Malindi

Eastern Africa
Malindi
Art Makers (1)
Mombasa

Modern Mombasa traces its heritage back to the Thenashara Taifa, a Swahili clan that still maintains an unbroken chain of customs and traditions.

Eastern Africa
Mombasa
Art Makers (4)
Art Spaces (2)
Nairobi

Nairobi takes its name from a water hole known to the Maasai people as Enkare Nairobi (“Cold Water”). Before the late 1890s, the city was an uninhabited swamp that was chosen for its network of rivers and high elevation as...

Eastern Africa
Nairobi
Art Makers (56)
Events (1)
Art Spaces (16)
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