Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Busy month for Kenyan creatives
Mike Kyalo’s ‘Tell n Sell’ art. Photo/Margaretta wa Gacheru
The New Year hasn’t seen any slowdown in artistic expression among Kenyans.
This
past weekend witnessed clear-cut evidence to that fact when Kuona Trust
invited the public to attend its first Valentine Art Fair on Saturday,
offering art works for as low as Sh6,000 and inviting people to have
their portraits drawn by local artists.
There was live music and lots of yummy homemade food.
That same day, the Kenya Television and Film Writers held their Inaugural Meeting at PAWA254.
No
limits were set so not only established but also aspiring screenwriters
were on hand to take up the challenge of exceeding the artistic
excellence of both Nollywood and Bollywood as well as Hollywood, of
course.
The idea being that everyday life in Kenya is
filled with drama, comedy, mystery and satiric twists that deserve to
become screenplays either for TV or film or even for live theatre!
VARIETY
Visual art exhibitions that have already opened in the last few days include one man shows at Alliance Francaise, Kuona Trust and Que Pasa Restaurant.
Visual art exhibitions that have already opened in the last few days include one man shows at Alliance Francaise, Kuona Trust and Que Pasa Restaurant.
At Alliance, it’s Mike Kyalo whose exhibition “Tell and Sell” features images of street vendors selling all sorts of items.
Based
under umbrellas and in Kyalo’s mind, the vendors are often artisans
available to explain and hold impromptu “workshops’ for prospective
buyers of their wares, be they crafts, home furnishings or food of
assorted types.
Meanwhile late last week, at Kuona
Trust, Kevin Oduor mounted an amazing show of metallic sculptures that
he calls Exhibition II.
Oduor is one of Kenya’s most
prolific, conspicuous and versatile sculptors who’s best known for his
life-size Dedan Kimathi sculpture that stands in Nairobi’s City Centre
right at the junction of Kimathi and Mama Ngina streets.
His
most recent work of public art is at the Makadara Railway Station and
he has another magnificent piece out at the Syokimau station near
Mlolongo. (We must applaud Kenya Railways for supporting Kenyan
contemporary art and artists.)
Existence II is a
stunning yet quirky exhibition of mainly men’s trousers which Oduor has
created as if they’re worn by dismembered guys who like casual, slightly
oversized pants.
Each piece is carefully creased and
wrinkled to look lived-in, which makes them all the more interesting and
fun. What was Kevin thinking? And why only the bottom half of all of
these guys?
Dickson Kaloki’s solo show at Que Pasa in
Karen is about to close next week so one had better slip by before the
restaurant rotates his work back to Kuona where one may also find his
mono-toned Mukuru ‘slum art’.
Go to Business Daily for the full article
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