5 Places To See Contemporary Art in Nairobi
1. Alliance Francaise
Ever since its founding in 1949, the Alliance Francaise de Nairobi has been a center for French culture and is in fact one of the largest on the continent. They’ve been a hub for performances, learning and fine art. Their exhibitions are not necessarily related to French culture and are facilitated to encourage growth in the Kenyan art scene. One notable recent exhibition was Portals and Trails by Justus Kyalo inspired by the instinctive travel and trade among the Kamba people, retracing the Kamba’s historical trails to the Kenyan Coast where upon they encountered portals on reaching the Indian Ocean.
2. Goethe Institut
Drawing from the rich cultural diversity of the Federal republic of Germany, the institute fosters German-Kenyan cultural relations through art, film, language, literature and music. Other than photography, they don’t show as much art as other galleries (they have a lot of film exhibitions) but when they do, it’s an experience worth attending, sometimes more than once in the same week.
3. The Kenya National Archives
This large beige building with maroon pillars tasked with protecting our country’s cultural and political history is often ignored by the thousands of people that pass it every day. Whenever people hear about the archives they mostly envision dust old copies of the Kenya gazette or newspapers. Rarely do they imagine the sculptures. The Murumbi gallery located on the ground floor of the building hosts the largest Pan African art collection in Africa obtained from Kenya’s second Vice President Joseph Murumbi after he turned down offers from overseas potential buyers.
4. The National Museum
Probably one of the most obvious places for one to look for art in Kenya is the flagship museum of the National Museums of Kenya, the Museum boasts a collection that embodies the four pillars of Kenya’s national heritage; history, culture, nature and contemporary art. These four pillars are also captured in the sculptures that dot the grounds making it one of the best places in the city for a coffee date or lunch.
5. The Nairobi Gallery
Formerly known as “hatches, matches and dispatches” (births, weddings and death notices were made there) this more than 100 year old building hosts temporary exhibitions throughout the year as well as works from the Murumbi collection drawn from the National Museum and the Kenya National Archive. The collection includes culturally significant items such as art, books, cultural attire, fabrics and post stamps that have since vanished from modernity. Formerly an office of the colonial government, the National Gallery is one of the best places to see art in Kenya.
By Adam Kiboi
