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PrimeLuck Arts

Contemporary Kenyan art

Contemporary Kenyan art is varied and growing, from painting and sculpture to photography, installation and design. It speaks of local life as well as global questions.

Period
African art history
Approximate dates
From independence in 1963 to today
Place of origin
Nairobi, Kenya
Key regions
Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and the Kenyan diaspora
Art forms
Painting, sculpture, collage, installation, photography, video, performance
Major artists
Wangechi Mutu, Michael Armitage, Cyrus Kabiru, Elimo Njau, Ancent Soi

Visual introduction

  • The NewOnes, will free Us

    Wangechi Mutu · 2019 · Bronze sculpture · The Metropolitan Museum of Art facade, New York

    Four monumental female figures were placed in the Met facade niches, which had stood empty for over a century.

  • Mpeketoni

    Michael Armitage · 2016 · Oil on Lubugo bark cloth

    Armitage paints on traditional bark cloth made in Uganda, with Kenyan political events as subjects.

  • C-Stunners

    Cyrus Kabiru · Ongoing series from the 2010s · Wearable sculptures from found materials

    Eyeglass sculptures made of scrap and found objects, worn and photographed in Nairobi.

Historical context

Kenyan art after independence in 1963 grew through artist-led spaces. The Paa ya Paa Art Centre, founded in Nairobi in the 1960s by Elimo Njau, and Gallery Watatu in the 1960s were early meeting points. Art courses at the University of Nairobi and later galleries, residencies and studios widened the scene.

Today Kenyan artists show worldwide. Their themes include politics, memory, gender, environment, the body, urban life and the legacy of colonialism, often using local materials and found objects.

Visual characteristics

Materials: oil on bark cloth, found objects, recycled metal and plastic, collage, textile and photography.

Subject: Nairobi street life, politics, folklore, identity and the environment.

Approach: very varied, with no single style, and many artists working between Nairobi and international centres.

Related movements

Sources and further reading

Further reading: Smarthistory. Tate, Art Terms. Artists' own websites and gallery pages.