When is the last time you ventured into CBD?
Currently there are three thought provoking art exhibitions on that will entice you there. Nairobi is currently hosting a variety of art exhibitions in key cultural hubs across the Central Business District (CBD), including Alliance Française, a keystone in the Nairobi cultural world, the iconic and intriguing McMillan Library and the historical Nairobi Gallery, where your entry fee affords you a dive into the diversity of Kenyan arts & culture as well as the highlighted contemporary exhibition.
Photo of various pieces reflected in image by Mustafa Saeed – by the author
Reframing Neglect
Creative directed by contemporary artist and activist @aidamuluneh, “Reframing Neglect” highlights the need to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) globally. Although the topic might sound gloomy, the quality and content of the photography shines – the works use creative and aesthetic means in both fine art and documentary photography to reframe how society tells stories about people impacted by NTDs across Africa.
Photographs by Aida Muluneh
The exhibition features works by photographers from various African countries: Ala Kheir (Sudan), John Kalapo (Mali), Meseret Argaw (Ethiopia), Mustafa Saeed (Somaliland), Sarah Waiswa (Uganda), Omoregie Osakpolor (Nigeria) and Aida Muluneh herself. It offers an in-depth perspective different from the typical imagery associated with diseases in Africa. The artists highlight the weight of NTDs on individuals and communities. While some of the images are striking and beautiful, they are still a powerful interpretation of the impact of NTDs on gender equity, mental health, mobility and access to resources.
Reframing Neglect | McMillan Memorial Library | Banda St. | Until 21 October
Ah Suh It Gah
The common denominator between the works of Adam Masava and Marina Burnel are sun-worn, rust-stained, dust scratched mabati sheets they work with, which reflect the social dynamics in their respective daily environments. capturing the essence of urban life and social issues through mixed media.
Adam Masava is a Kenyan artist who grew up in the Mukuru slums. Most of his work relates to daily life in the informal settlement, telling stories via painted snapshots, such as two children eating ice cream out side of a shop emblazoned with a 3D sheet metal logo of MPESA. This particular exhibition presents a number of Masava’s works that are relevant to the Gen Z protests of June and July this year, as well as those that reference the flooding and demolition of homes on riparian land in the informal settlements at the same time. His work brings out the humanity behind the harsh realities of informal settlements, often celebrating community, hope, and perseverance.
Painting by Adam Masava
Marina Burnel is a French photographer based in Kingston, Jamaica. She uses street photography to capture the Jamaican people by capturing men, women, and children in raw and spontaneous portraits, exposing the beauty in everyday simplicity and uses aged iron sheets to explore the concept of beauty through the broken. She examines complexities of modern Jamaican society, capturing senseless segregation and violence against backdrop of a rich and diverse world. She seeks to highlight the impact of crime and violence disadvantaged and at-risk communities by embracing diverse socio-political beliefs, expressions, and cultural deviations.
Image by Marina Brunel
Burnel’s work evokes a sense of movement, migration, and resilience, with a focus on texture and abstract form which complement the roughly painted sketches that typify Masava’s recent explorations of the Gen Z protests.
While both artists use similar materials, Burnel leans towards abstraction and cultural memory, while Masava centers on human stories, creating a dialogue between global and local narratives.
Ah Suh It Guh | Alliance Française | Until 27 October
Image by CAFP
Ready for Shipment – A visual archive of fashion, beauty & creativity in China, Africa and the multiple Souths
This exhibition presented by China Africa Fashion Power (CAFP) at the Nairobi Gallery is more of a conversation than an exhibition of visual art, although there are illustrative photos. CAFP investigates how China’s global power is manifested and negotiated in people’s daily life in a South-South setting, including in Kenya. As their name implies, the group does this by looking at fashion: how it is created, circulated, valued, and consumed in the global south, focusing on Guangdong (China), Nairobi and Maputo (Mozambique).
Image by Paul Young for CAFP
The exhibition is designed to reflect themes of movement, migration, and the global flow of goods and ideas, drawing parallels between the literal shipment of items and the metaphorical shipment of culture and identity across borders. In our era of increasing globalization, this exhibition is takes a thought provoking view of the fashion industry and challenges western-centric ideals.
The location is an interesting note: The building is situated at Kenya’s point zero from where distances to all corners of the country and subsequently to the continent and the world were measured from.
Ready for Shipment | Nairobi Gallery | Kenyatta Ave & Uhuru Highway | Until 30 November