Nomadic Arts Festival 2024

Tickets are now available to purchase via Kenya Buzz or Mookh

Get ready for a night of music and culture at The inaugural Nomadic Arts Festival, which will take place on Friday December 6th 2024 at Oshwal Center in Westlands, Nairobi. The festival will bring together talent from Northern Kenya and trending pop artists from Nairobi in an unforgettable celebration of music, culture and collaboration. The afterparty will be held at the brand new Geco Central, in Ngara, Nairobi.

Attendees can look forward to electrifying performances, blending traditional rhythms with contemporary beats from Turkana Sessions and the Turkana Sessions Orchestra alongside a carefully curated lineup of talented artists from both Turkana and Nairobi.

Regular Tickets: 3,000 KSH Gate Tickets: 4,000 KSH

Conceptualized in 2022 by Content House Kenya, Turkana Sessions brought together Turkana artists: Jackson Nakuwa, Mourine Apuu, Jackson Ekori and Elizabeth Korikel in collaboration with Nairobi’s Eddie Grey in an exploration of the region’s musical heritage. All 10 songs on the project were performed and recorded live on location at the breathtaking shores of Lake Turkana, in the pyramid hills at Eliye and the grass flats of Kerio, in Turkana County and later performed at a Nairobi concert that took place at Alliance Française in the same year.

Jackie Lebo, the CEO of Content House Kenya shared

“We’re excited to announce the inaugural Nomadic Arts Festival which is the culmination of 10 years of work in Northern Kenya. Right now we’re booking artists, rehearsing with the orchestra and working through technical specifications in order to create an unforgettable experience for audiences.”

In 2014, Content House was invited to Turkana to make a documentary on the recent natural resource discoveries in the region. After experiencing the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the region, Content House created a companion project: The Turkana Artists Xchange, to enable the participation of many more artists.

The Artists Xchange project brings together artists from Turkana and Nairobi to produce work that responds to the issues facing the Northern Kenya region. The artists work in various disciplines including music, video art, film, fashion, visual art and photography. After completing 7 projects (including Turkana Sessions) in the Xchange, they are scaling the project and creating a platform where even more artists and larger audiences can interact.

Inspired by the success of the Turkana Artists Xchange project, which bridges tradition with modernity, The Nomadic Arts Festival takes this vision to new heights by offering a dynamic platform for artists from Northern Kenya to showcase their work to new audiences in Nairobi. With the aim of fostering economic opportunities through art, this year’s edition of the festival will also have a small marketplace supporting the local artisans and businesses while highlighting the positive attributes of Northern Kenya.

The Nomadic Arts Festival will be an annual event that will continue to invite artists from other areas in Northern Kenya in collaboration with acts from Nairobi and beyond to celebrate unique forms of expression to highlight and preserve art forms from the region and create connections across cultures through music and art.