So much happening iN the Nairobi Art World this month, especially Labour Day Weekend… Get out there and experience it all!
EVENTS & OPENINGS
Come Back, Africa | Contemporary Image Centre | Friday 8 May | 7 PM
Come Back, Africa (1959) is a landmark documentary by Lionel Rogosin, filmed covertly on the streets of Johannesburg and in the township of Sophiatown under apartheid South Africa. A rare and urgent document of a people and a place the regime tried to erase. Winner of the Critics’ Award at the Venice Film Festival. Limited seats, link in bio @cic.africa.
Who Am I | George Kuria | Contemporary Image Centre | Saturday 9 May | 7pm
Join us for (Who Am I) a photo slideshow with Nairobi-based photographer George Kuria, presenting analogue images alongside a personal family archive that marks the origin of his practice. The evening moves through feeling as method, asking what it means to slow down, to see, and to let emotion guide the frame. Limited seats, link in bio @cic.africa
Photography Book Club | Paper Cafe x Good Grain | Saturday 9 May | 12 pm – 6 pm
a special Nairobi edition of @photographybookclub by @cocoolakunle in collaboration with Paper Café & @nairobibeyond . Flip through a curated selection of photography books, connect with fellow creatives, and spend time with visual stories that centre people, culture, and community.
For everybody who wants to enjoy photography offline! Free entry. Come as you are. Stay as long as you like.
Instruments of Becoming | Ryan Duk | Arthaus Studios | 9 & 10 May | 12 – 6pm
A deep encounter with identity, discipline, rupture, memory and transformation. Through layered portraiture, visceral texture and controlled chaos, these works explore the body and mind as vessels of effort, survival and becoming.
Colour Untamed | Katie Simpson | KitenGallery, Nani’s Wonderland, Kitengela Glass | Opening Saturday 9 May, lunchtime | Until 9 July
Tides of Presence | Eugene Miera & Mutune Waweru | Nobody Owns Me, Kibera Arts District | Opening Saturday 9 May, 2-7pm | Until 21 June
Aftermath | Meshack Okeyo | Annex Gallery, Kibera Arts District | Opening Saturday 9 May, 2-7pm | Until 21 June
Territories of Becoming | Waleed Mohammed, Cynthia Nyakiro & Mugabo Baritegera | HoF Gallery, Kibera Arts District | Opening Saturday 9 May, 2-7pm | Until 21 June
Fluid Movements | Chez Mahmadi | On view from 2 May – 2 June | Opening Reception 16 May, 4 – 6:30pm
“I would say my style is afrocentric/afro futuristic/afro pop. My biggest growth is getting to a point where am not afraid to experiment. There’s been a lot of transformation on my artworks and where I am currently is a point of going back to the beginning and some of the things I once tried and feel like they didn’t work out. Experimental projects is where I am right now just seeing how far i can take this.”
Kenya Museum Society Affordable Art Show | Opening Night Friday 22 May, 4 – 8pm | Continues Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 May, 10am – 5pm
The Affordable Art Show is the largest art show in East Africa, showcasing the work of new and established artists in the region. This is the 20th edition of the show! Over 400 artists will participate with about 800 works on display. The artists range from first time exhibitors to established artists who have exhibited internationally. This is a juried show, with prices set during a discussion between the artist and the jury which includes the Curator of Art at the National Museums of Kenya. A percentage of the sale price of each artwork goes to the Kenya Museum Society to fund projects at museums in Kenya. If you are looking to purchase artworks, make sure you attend opening night – that’s when all the pieces get snapped up!
Beautiful Waste | Wanjiku Koinange | Creatives Garage | Opening 29 May 6pm | Until 5 June
Beautiful Waste | Wanjiku Koinange | Creatives Garage | Opening 29 May 6pm | Until 5 JuneThis body of work by @shyqo of @startswithasketch is deeply personal. Shaped by a quiet exploration of what we release, what we hold onto, and the unexpected beauty found in both.
Beautiful Waste reflects on the treasured and the overlooked, the discarded and the almost forgotten and invites us to see them differently.
California Tour | Nairobi Sketch Tour | 23 May
California Estate is not your typical Nairobi neighbourhood. You won’t find palm trees swaying over tanned beach bodies, you won’t find Hollywood here. .Set in the restless heart of Eastleigh, Calif, as it’s fondly known, moves to a different rhythm. It has long stood as a quiet compass of culture in Nairobi. From the dust and roar of the iconic Deza grounds to the birth of Genge music that pulsed out of its streets, this small estate has shaped sound, spirit, and story. We invite you to journey with us into its past, to listen closely to its present, and to glimpse what may be its final unfolding.
Ticket link in bio @nairobisketch_tour.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
Mali Safi | Patrick Mukabi | Banana Hill Gallery | Extended for indefinite time
It’s the rhythm of the streets, the melodic call of the vendor, and the heartbeat of our markets. In this stunning new series, Patrick Mukabi captures the high-energy choreography of the Kenyan marketplace—the persuasive gestures, the colorful displays, and the relentless spirit of the hustle.
Curated by Njeri Njenga, this exhibition strips away the chaos to reveal the beauty in the transaction. It is a tribute to the people who turn the pavement into a stage and everyday trade into a symphony of human connection.
Leso-on | Fungututi Misiko | Munyu Space | Opening Saturday 2 May | 12-6pm | Until 12 May
The origin of the leso, also known as the kanga, traces back to the early 18thcentury when Portuguese traders introduced square kerchiefs called “lenço” to the East African coast. Over generations, the leso has evolved into a versatile and functional item, used in rituals, weddings, daily attire, and as a medium for advertising by institutions and political organizations.
Fungututi Misiko occupies munyu with a response to the leso. What begun as works on improvised surfaces, then gradually expanded to encompass a deeper exploration of textile heritage; and more…
Vacuums Don’t Exist | Father Papillon L. Bijou | Cheche Books
“It’s time to release and rest. Karibuni nyote to the garden of bijou this May as I showcase the labor of love I have been birthing for a year 👁️ 👁️
To be continued…” – Father Papillon L. Bijou
Second Lives | Wilson Ngugi | Nairobi National Museum, Creativity Gallery | Until 14 May
An exhibition of cardboard sculptures—where discarded material is transformed into form, structure, and meaning.
8:30am – 5:00pm daily | Normal museum rates apply.
A Glimmery Breath of Light | Red Hill Art Gallery | Open 11am – 5pm
There is something familiar, yet quietly shifting beneath the surface. Like the changing weather of the rainy season, his presence evident in his paintings reveal moments of light glimpses of joy breaking through something more introspective. Gor is an artist-thinker, working in solitude, committed to expressing his cognitive spirit with his visual intelligence.
Echoes of Memory | Cyrus Kabiru | Kofisi Kaskazi | Until 15 May
‘Echoes of Memory’, the first major public exhibition in Nairobi by internationally acclaimed Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru is hosted at KOFISI Kaskazi, marking a significant homecoming for the artist following a decade of celebrated exhibitions across Europe and the United States. Experience contemporary African art that explores memory, movement and innovation — including the iconic Black Mamba bicycles that are now striking sculptural reflections on endurance.
9am–5pm weekdays | 9am–1pm Saturdays | Closed Sundays
DM, drop in, email or call: +254 (0)703041000 | [email protected]
The 51 Years Of My Art Love | Photizo, Muthangari Garden Rd, Lavinghton | Until 16 May
A special art exhibition in honor of a Maestro of Congolese Popular Art, Chéri Chérin, accompanied by amazing artists ; Grady Kinkonda, Edith Congane, Strong Kinumbi, Winnar Nsangu and Benjamin Mbenga.
Still in Transit | Sarah Waiswa and Joel Lukhovi | Paper Cafe X The Good Grain | Until 16 May
A collaborative trans-African photography project by @lafrohemien & @lukhovi explores movement as both method and subject. Developed over a decade of travel across the continent using local transport networks, the images trace how cities take shape through circulation, exchange and continual transformation. In this body of work, Waiswa and Lukhovi invite viewers to consider the visible and invisible forces that enable, restrict or redirect mobility, and the quiet negotiations through which people inhabit and move across space. Free and open to all
Viewing Hours; Tuesday to Saturday, 8 am to 4 pm.
The Skin of Memory | Abdul Rop| The African Arts Trust | Until 22 May
The African Art Trust and Kairos Futura announce The Skin of Memory, an exhibition of large-scale woodcut prints by Nairobi-based artist Abdul Rop. The exhibition presents a series of prints drawn from the history of the Nandi Resistance to British colonial rule (1890–1906). As a descendant of the Nandi people of Western Kenya, Rop turns to this history both as a personal inheritance and as a lens through which to examine colonialism’s lasting mark on communities, land, and identity.
At the centre of the series is the story of Orkoiyot Koitalel Arap Samoei, the spiritual and military leader of the Nandi people, who led more than a decade of resistance against British expansion and the construction of the Uganda Railway through Nandi territory. The railway, which the Nandi called the “Iron Snake”, fulfilled an earlier prophecy attributed to Samoei’s father, Kimnyole arap Turukat, who had foretold a great black serpent crossing the land. In October 1905, Samoei was killed by British Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen during a peace meeting. His skull was taken to London, where it remains. The resistance ended shortly after.
Rop’s intricate prints serve as a form of archaeology. By excavating these histories, he reveals the imprint left on the “skin” of the nation and its people. The scale of the prints asks viewers to reckon with these events at close range, tracing the connections between colonial administration, dispossession, and the communities that endured both.
Abdul Rop (b. 1993) is an artist and sociologist whose work addresses questions of social justice, land, and collective memory. He studied sociology and religion at Egerton University and developed his printmaking practice through the Brush Tu Artist Collective in Nairobi. He is a founding member of Kairos Futura.
Matrix & Multiples | Seven Artists | Kobo, Riara Rd. | Opening Friday 1 May | Until 23 May
A print exhibition encompassing various print making techniques including Etching, Mezotint, Screen , Woodcut etc. By various artists.
Free Entry
Chorus of Beings | Newton Eshivachi & Paul Njihia | One Off Gallery | Until 24 May
Paul Njihia: This body of work examines the shifting power dynamics embedded in everyday life. In recent years, CCTV cameras have become an ordinary presence in our daily lives; on streets, workplaces and public spaces. While they are presented as instruments of security, their deeper function lies in surveillance. Surveillance is not neutral; it is an act performed by those in positions of power upon those below them. The aerial camera view becomes a symbol of this imbalance: visible to all, yet operated by unseen watchers. This in turn creates a constant awareness of being observed, shaping behavior and reinforcing hierarchies. Through this work, I interrogate the tension between protection and policing, visibility and invisibility, freedom and control.
Newton Eshivachi: Eshivachi began his artistic practice working with pen and pencil before transitioning to acrylic painting. Positioning art as both social critique and reflective practice, Eshivachi’s work describes the often-overlooked forces shaping lived realities in Metamodern African societies; where idealism and disillusionment, hope and constraint, coexist in tension.
Fragments | Thom Ogonga | One Off Gallery | Until 24 May
Ogonga explores the expressive and temporal possibilities of material. His process is characterized by layering, revision, and the interplay between control and spontaneity, resulting in surfaces that register both immediacy and duration. Through fragmented compositions and partially resolved forms, his work resists fixed narratives, instead foregrounding ambiguity and emotional complexity.
His recent body of work investigates rupture – particularly the psychological and affective dimensions of separation, grief, and the ongoing process of self-redefinition. His paintings situate the personal within a broader visual language, inviting viewers to engage with states of vulnerability, absence, and transformation.
Handle with Care | Boniface Maina, Michael Musyoka, David Thuku | Circle Art Gallery | Until 29 May
Survival is not a passive state, but an active, exhausting performance. Whether navigating a landscape of vice, stretching our physical limits, or painting our faces to hide our exhaustion, we must perform to stay afloat.
In this exhibition, Boniface Maina, David Thuku, and Michael Musyoka each examine the fragile systems we abide by to exist within the world, reflecting on the contradictions between what is felt internally and what is presented outwardly. Across their practices, a shared thread emerges: the constant oscillation between vulnerability and control, self and environment, authenticity and performance.
Gallery 2 will exhibit the second generation Brush Tu artists: S W Gatugi, Munene Kariithi, Elias Mung’ora, Joseph Muturi, Lincoln Mwangi, Husna Nyathira, Peteros Ndunde, Husna Nyathira, Antony Mega Ng’ang’a, Joseph Mbiyu Ng’ang’a, Kimani Ngaru, Margaret Ngigi, Alfred Sila, Sebawali Sio, Rachel Tamara and Victor Wathithi
Tabula Rasa | Peterson Kamwathi | NCAI | Until 23 August
Peterson Kamwathi’s first major institutional solo exhibition and his first such exhibition in Nairobi. Spanning drawing, printmaking, sculpture, video, and a site-specific wall drawing, the exhibition centres drawing as a way of thinking, a way of looking that is never passive. Through layered images, shifting between clarity and obscurity, Kamwathi questions what is remembered, what is erased, and who decides. The everyday becomes monumental; the overlooked, charged with history. In this exhibition, Kamwathi offers something more valuable than resolution: a set of images precise enough to slow us down, and open enough to let us look again.
Art of Connection | Sena Art X Art Direction @ Hyatt Regency | Ongoing through May 2026
In collaboration with Hyatt Hotels Westlands Nairobi, the exhibition ‘The Art of Connection’ unfolds across five floors as a living exhibition curated by Myrna (Art Direction) and Linda (Sena Art Gallery). Bringing together contemporary artists and designers from Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Tanzania, the exhibition explores art as a space of encounter, movement, and exchange.
Set within a hotel—a place of passage and pause—the exhibition remains fluid, continuously evolving as new works are introduced weekly. Through this platform, Myrna Art Direction and Sena Art Gallery connect artists with exclusive audiences, fostering dialogue, visibility, mentorship and sustainable creative practices across art, travel, and business.
Keep an eye on @senaartgallery on Instagram for announcements of their Taste of Art tours, encompassing a tour of some of the artworks in the collection acoompanied by themed bitings.
Artists and designers are invited to submit their work and join the exhibition. Portfolios (PDF) can be submitted via WhatsApp to +254 115 784 649.
A featured work By @altayeb_morhal, from the opening collection at Nubian Art Gallery
Opening Collection | Nubian Art Gallery (Stellato Mall) | Ongoing
The newest gallery in town, championing Sudanese art/artists and raising funds to support communities in Sudan affected by crisis, uplift children, and empower artists back home. Walk-ins are welcome, and private viewings can be arranged by appointment.
Hours: Mon – Thurs & Saturday 12-8pm | Friday & Sunday 2 – 9pm
Wahenga Wa Sanaa | Nairobi National Museum | Until 2027
Wahenga wa Sanaa: Tracing two centuries of artistic legacy 1800 – 1980
Wahenga wa Sanaa brings the NMK collection into public view, tracing powerful themes of cultural identity, spirituality, history and politics, nature and environment, and the growth of formal art training and supporting institutions. The exhibition honours the Wahenga—the wise ancestors and cultural forebearers whose creativity laid the foundation for generations of artists. As we create art today, we walk in their footsteps and continue to build on their enduring legacy. The exhibition is funded by the Kenya Museum Society. Read more about the exhibition in our article.