PRESS RELEASE
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH
OF THE KENYA ARTS DIARY 2015
October 17, 2014
The official launch of
the Kenya Arts Diary 2015 will be held this coming Tuesday, October 21 at
6pm at the Heinrich Boell Foundation offices on Forest Road.
Guest of Honor at the
Launch of this the 5th Kenya Arts Diary will be the German Ambassador, Mr.
Andreas Peschke who will official launch the Diary and open the 2nd Kenya
Arts Diary Artists Exhibition.
The exhibition will
feature a portion of artworks by the more than 60 artists whose art
is included in this year's Diary.
The Kenya Arts Diary
is the brain child of glass artist Nani Croze who is also the founder of the
Kitengela Glass Research and Training Trust. Since 2010 Nani has been
working with a team of art-loving volunteers to assemble art works by the
best and brightest young Kenyan artists around. Kul Graphics has also played an
invaluable role in publishing the full-color diary every year.
Nani's initial
vision from the beginning has been to create a diary that is both a calendar
and a catalogue of contemporary Kenyan art which reflects the
burgeoning nature of the local visual arts scene. She also has wanted
to expose the amazing diversity, dynamism and determination of young
Kenyan artists to confirm that there is indeed contemporary Kenyan
art and that African art is not confined exclusively to West and
South Africa but it is also thriving in East Africa, especially in Kenya.
That is why, in
all five editions of the Diary, the KAD arts committee has sought to fill every
new edition with the artwork of fresh, new Kenyan talents. It
has also tried to include veteran Kenyan and East African artists
every year. These have included painters like Ancent Soi, Elimo Njau, Yony
Waite and Jak Katarikawe as well as sculptors like the late Samwel
Wanjau, Elkana Ong'esa and Edward Njeng'a.
The Diary team has
worked hard to seek out young and relatively unknown artists who haven't had
much public exposure but their artistic talents are apparent. The
team's commitment to giving young artists opportunities to develop their
creative skills is possibly most evident in the Kenya Arts Diary
Residency Award or KADRA that was launched last year. The art
residency affords young artists the opportunity to work with experienced
artists in stimulating studio environments for one month with all expenses
paid, including art materials, accommodations, a stipend and the opportunity to
exhibit the awardee's work produced during that one month residency.
Last year, the two KADRA
awardees were Michael Kyalo and Ezra Joab. This year the awardee, currently
working with Nani Croze at Kitengela Glass, is Kezia Nduta.
Early in 2015 a call
will go out to young Kenyan artists to apply for KADRA and all Kenyans under
the age of 25 years will be welcome to apply.
What makes the Kenya
Arts Diary both a calendar and a catalogue of contemporary Kenyan art is
because every week is given to one artist whose art work is featured together
with a head shot of the artist, a brief bio and the artist's contacts
so that the public can communicate directly with the artist. Aiming to
foster transparency and independence among the artists, Nani says she feels
strongly that artists need to have platforms that enable the public to easily
access them. She says it's good for the artists and the public as well since
art lovers can use the Diary like a directory to find the artists they want to
know and potentially to invest in their art.
Any questions about
the Kenyan Arts Diary 2015 can be sent to kenyaartsdiary@gmail.com or sent to
the Diary's Facebook page.
The Diary is available for sale in all the
local bookstores, galleries and art centres. For details about obtaining the
Diary, call Diana at 0720624139.
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