Requiem for the Arts
It will come as no surprise to find out that artists in Kenya are not properly valued by their fellow countrymen. Investing in art for art’s sake, is still a pretty foreign idea and at a middle class level, art does not go beyond the odd religious or inspirational print intended to fill a gap on a living room wall. The past half decade has witnessed the closure of important galleries like the RaMoMa and Watatu and despite many protests, the iconic African Heritage House near the Nairobi National Park is scheduled to be demolished to make space for the standard gauge railway.
On the flip side, Nairobi has over the last few years witnessed the rise of collaborative art spaces like Kuona and PAWA254 which are focussed on nurturing artists’ talents and giving them a space in which they can create, evolve and learn from each other. From a commercial perspective, the new player on the block Circle Art Agency, has been relentless in its quest to create money making opportunities for upcoming artists. Circle Art is the first independent arts agency in East Africa and their mission is to promote the emerging contemporary art market at home and abroad. Our Op-Ed questions of the month address this very issue: do Kenyan artists benefit from having a middleman curate their shows and help them get exposure? On the yes side of the panel we find Wamboi Kay, curator at the ever popular Shifteye Gallery who argues that the importance of galleries has not diminished of time and that they are finding new an innovative ways to represent them on digital platforms. On the no side of the argument our panelist decided to remain anonymous, so we were forced to come up with a catchy name for him and we felt that Dr NoMArt fit the bill. Who’s argument is most convincing? Are artists being short-changed by those who represent their interests or is the gallery and agency still an invaluable institution to help artists survive?
How do Kenyan Museums speak to people about their identities? Where do we come from and what does it say about who we are today? This issue is addressed by Mfala Mfalme in his article the “Museum of Now” that explores an imaginary scenario in which the defunct Club Florida, is turned into a Modern Museum which attempts to represent the fluid identities of Kenyans today. In an attempt to understand the state of our artistic nation, associate editor Amal Mohamed set out to chart how the Kenyan Government is sidelining an important generator of income by ignoring the role of the creative sectors in its vision for the country.
From a technological perspective, our new tech columnist Sidney Sambu sets out to review what gadgets, software and websites are available to help budding artists produce better art and to market it once it is complete. Speaking of new columnists, we are happy to welcome Rashid Abdi Jibril to the UP Nairobi family. This month he takes us on a quick tour of the HIFA festival in Harare (../../Zimbabwe.jpg) which he attended earlier on in the year.
This month’s has shaped up quite nicely on our online platform and we have a breakdown of what’s been hot and what not, on The Wire. Beyond that, social media has been awash with hype over Okwiri Oduor’s recent Caine Prize win and UPMagazine managed to secure interviews with both her and the ../../Zimbabwe.jpgan literary heavyweight NoViolet Bulawayo.
August is a quiet month in Nairobi but by the looks of our events page Nairobians can look forward to a month of fun which will culminate with Kenya’s finest festival the RVF.
