EAST AFRICAN ENCOUNTERS CURATED BY CIRCLE ART AGENCY FROM JUNE 21ST AT RAMARA SHOWROOM

Baby Osinyo by kenyan artist kota otieno

East African Encounters to open on Saturday, June 21 at Ramara Showroom on Mzima Springs Rd. opposite Strathmore School.

Artwork by Ethiopian artist Kebread Demeke one of the 50 east african art pieces to be part of Circle Art Agency's Pop Up Exhibition opening june 21st.

'China Loves Africa' by the Kenyan artist Michael Soi in the East African Encounters show

Mixed Media Collage by kenyan artist Mbuthia Maina at Ramara Showroom from Saturday June 21st for 4 days only.

SHABU MWANGI'S ART AT ONE OFF GALLERY

Shabu Mwangi’s life story on canvas and mabati

"My dream" by painter Shabu Mwangi. His life story is well told through his paintings currently up at One Off Gallery.PHOTO/MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

By MARGARETTA WA GACHERU
Posted  Thursday, June 5  2014 at  15:28

In Summary

• Having lived most of his 29 years in Mukuru ‘slum’ in Nairobi, Mwangi has had the good fortune of doing art in school from the time he was in pre-primary.
• Much as he he had a knack for the arts, Mwangi was rebellious, having unmentionable troubles at home which led to him to drop out of school.

Like so many Kenyan visual artists, Shabu Mwangi has an amazing story to tell. It’s a story well told through his paintings currently up at One Off Gallery.

Covering everything from his views on international (Evolve Observer) and local politics (Acceptance and Abreast) to more intimate and autobiographical accounts of his family (Family Post mortem and My dream), his former life as a ‘bad boy’ and righteous rebel (Black Moon) and his realisation that he had a higher calling (My shadow) which now inspires him to assist children, the disabled and aspiring young artists through teaching them art.

The challenge of fully appreciating Mwangi’s paintings has to do with his consistent use of subtle symbolism which is not easily deciphered.

Metaphors

He describes his symbols as ‘metaphors’ which make loads of sense once the artist shares his interpretation of his work, something that he graciously did for me during the first days of his show at One Off, his second solo exhibition there and his third overall with the first one held at Le Rustique in 2012.

Having lived most of his 29 years in Mukuru ‘slum’ in Nairobi, Mwangi has had the good fortune of doing art in school from the time he was in pre-primary.

He learnt the skills of print - and mosaic-making while attending the Rubin Centre in Eastlands where he discovered early that an artist didn’t necessarily need costly materials to be creative. He made mosaics with raw maize, beans and glue, and created prints using banana stalks and leaves.

Drop out

But as much as he learned early that he had a knack for the arts, Mwangi was rebellious, having unmentionable troubles at home which led to him to drop out of school. Getting an education on the streets of Nairobi, he eventually made his way to the Matrix Education Centre in Buru Buru where he was able to study on his own, take the necessary exams and complete his ‘O’ levels with good marks.

At 17, he had the good fortune of meeting Kaafiri Kariuki at the Mukuru Art Centre together with a number of aspiring young artists. It was an encounter that shaped the rest of his career since Kaafiri (who founded MAC) saw Mwangi’s potential and gave him a job working in the Centre’s gallery and shop that sold the students’ art.

“But once we’d graduated from the Centre [in 2004] we didn’t have anywhere to go,” recalled Mwangi who decided there and then to start his own Wajuku Project where he and other MAC artists would explore ways of making and marketing their art.

That’s also when his work of teaching art to Mukuru’s children began, work that he’s continued in his Kids Club every weekend since.

ISK art club

Wajuku Project opened up many opportunities for Mwangi. He began working with art students at the International School of Kenya, which led to the Project mounting an exhibition to fundraise for its own centre and workshop.

The funds raised were more than matched with ISK art club’s contribution to building Wajuku’s mabati-walled art centre and studio.
Then in 2010, Mwangi’s work with slum children attracted the interest of an Italian NGO, MOCI or Movement for International Co-operation.

Wajuku

“Through MOCI we’re also teaching art to disabled youth in Makueni. The group also helped us build a second structure for the Kids Club,” adds Mwangi who noted that the new building not only has space for teaching the children but also has an art gallery and library which will be officially launched on June 16 by Carine Ouvry, wife of the Belgian Ambassador, who has helped fill Wajuku’s shelves with art books and books on many other subjects.

Fortunately, running the Wajuku Project isn’t all Mwangi does.

His painting style has evolved significantly since his first one-man show at Le Rustique. He uses far more colour in his work now than he did previously; but he continues to tell sensitive (albeit cryptic) stories through his art.

Most of his work at One Off is mixed media on canvas, although two of his paintings are on the burnt mabati he salvaged from the 2012 Sinai fire that devastated a whole section of the Mukuru slums.

One hallmark of Mwangi’s art is his sensitivity to the plight of the poor, the disabled, the abused and discriminated against, including the Somali population which he feels have been unfairly stereotyped.

Mwangi did an art residency in Germany in 2012 which enabled him to travel all over Europe. But he never intended to stay abroad.

“My home is Mukuru and that’s where it’s always been and always will be.”

Shabu Mwangi’s paintings will be up at One Off Gallery up to June 24th.

MUMBI KAIGWA & CO. SERVE 'DINNER THEATRE' AT WESTHOUSE HOTEL

Dinner theatre concept opens new opportunities for thespians

“Missed Connections” cast (Left to right) Djorf, Kaz, Renaud, Katy, Steve, Mumbi and Gakunju Kaigwa. Photo/MARGARETTA wa GACHERU 

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

Posted  Thursday, June 5  2014 at  19:32

In Summary

• Missed Connection combined comedy and drama to reveal how easily opportunities can be lost and sometimes found again.

Mumbi Kaigwa was back in full force last Thursday night performing together with her brother, Gakunju, and a team of talented actors, most of whom came from the International School of Kenya, apart from Kaz Lucas and Steve Murua.

Related Stories

• Dinner theatre concept opens new opportunities for thespians

The production, entitled Missed Connections featured five short plays and was staged in between dinner courses at the Westhouse Hotel.

The celebrated Kenyan actress began performing short plays known as Fire by Ten while still working with The Theatre Company, the troupe she founded in 2000.

But it wasn’t until she began brainstorming with another professional actress Katy Bingham that the two decided to do a dinner theatre show at the former 1 Degree South Hotel.

Produced by the Art Canvas and Bintis in the Woods, both of which are Mumbi’s cultural brands, Missed Connection combined comedy and drama to reveal how easily opportunities can be lost and sometimes found again, as was the case with the comedic version of The Story of Cinderella which caps off the five-script show.

The first short play, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rain by American playwright Will Eno, was also comedic although ironically, both characters (Renaud Gautier and Katy Bingham) implicitly conveyed a sense of loneliness and isolation that they clearly hoped to change.

Each was in his/her own private world separately shooting a match-making videos. Speaking to some anonymous person whom they hoped would be Mr or Ms Right, they both self-consciously tell stories about themselves.

There is definitely an undercurrent of pathos running through Rain, which both Renaud and Katy convey; yet their awkwardness is also amusing and endearing as most of us have had moments when we have tried too hard to be honest and open, yet it all seemed slightly contrived and ultimately unconvincing.

The comedic spirit spilt over into Mumbi’s solo performance of Eco’s Enter the Spokeswoman, Gently. She may not have meant to be funny, especially as her character had been commissioned to speak to families whose loved ones were missing due to the disappearance of their airplane.

But again her character was trying to be sincere and empathetic, but she kept putting her foot in her mouth. That’s where the audience found humour in a story about death.

Near the end of her performance, Mumbi’s character finally woke her audience to the gravity of what she meant to say. Talking about the inevitability of death, she finally knocked the theatrical “ball” out of the ballpark, opening up a conversation about the mortal nature of human life.

4am (Open all night) was another gem as it portrayed possibly the most clear-cut example of a “missed connection”. The scene is an all-night diner where characters like those played by Djorf Amirouche, Kaz Lucas and Gakunju Kaigwa come for “coffee and a burger” at 4am to be served by Steve Murua’s wise waiter.

Djorf’s rant about his domineering “wife” elicits sympathy from the waiter and Gakunja who end up playing matchmakers who try to bring together another attractive night owl (Kaz Lucas) with Djorf.

It doesn’t work and the two who almost connect go their separate ways, not knowing if indeed they were made for one another or not.

The fourth short play was for me the emotional high point of the night. Early Blight by Jean McConnell was billed as a “heartbreaking”‘ tale of a disabled mother (Mumbi Kaigwa) and dutiful daughter (Katy Bingham) who’s just made a discovery that’s left her so disillusioned with her mother that she ultimately decides to walk away from the old woman, a move one can hardly blame the daughter for.
 Accidentally breaking a family heirloom, Jean found 40-year-old letters from her former fiancé whom the mother had hidden all those years.

Obviously aimed at ensuring her child never marries and moves out on her, the daughter is devastated by her loss. But it’s the painful agony of the mother’s plea not to be left alone in her declining years that is heart-wrenching.

I totally sympathised with the daughter but Mumbi’s portrayal of the decrepit old woman was more than touching. It was a powerful cry of an entire culture where loneliness is so widespread, it’s a national tragedy.

Westhouse’s chocolate mousse dessert was delicious but even more so was the dinner theatre which we hope we’ll see more of in days to come.

Meanwhile, Friday evening will be the premiere performance of Seth Busolo’s newest script. For the troupe that he and his wife Daisy founded, Wholesome Entertainment, they will stage City Dads and the Women who love Them at Alliance Francaise.

In time for Father’s Day, Benjamin Webi, Michael Oyier and Steve Katingima will star in the interactive musical production that runs throughout the weekend.

Friday night, the Sigana International Storytelling Festival opens outside Kenya National Theatre.

Finally, Hate by Shakespeare scripted by Robin Denault is being staged as Chamber Theatre next Friday night at PAWA254 with a star-studded Kenyan cast. Saturday night it will also be performed at Karen Club.

SETH BUSOLO CELEBRATES FATHER'S DAY WITH MUSICAL THEATRE WHILE SHAKESPEARE'S REVISED AT PAWA254

Joys and trials of fathers dominate production’s theme 

Three dads sing a harmony in Seth Busolo’s play. Photo/MARGARETTA WA GACHERU 

By Margaretta wa Gacheru
Posted  Thursday, June 12  2014 at  15:40

In Summary

• Scheduled to coincide with Father’s Day, Seth Busolo’s script synthesised the experience of nine long-suffering dads who struggle with issues related to fatherhood, from telling children about sex to coping with staggering bills such as those that hospitals send after insisting the wife must have a costly Caesarian section.

Three productions staged this past weekend were wonderfully diverse, illustrating the vitality and versatility of Kenyan casts. All in various genres, from musical theatre to vibrant storytelling and chamber theatre, the one show that we can still see is tonight at PAWA 254, when Robin Denault’s Hate by Shakespeare is being staged with some of the most interesting Kenyan actors around.

All three productions were engaging and original; all told expressive well researched real life stories and all mixed various performative media to create a fascinating theatre weekend.

Wholesome Entertainment’s City Dads and the Women Who Love Them, scripted by Seth Busolo and staged at the Alliance Francaise blended comedy and drama with sweet original love songs written by Benjamin Webi, one of the three ‘dads’ — the other two are Michael Oyier and Steve Katingina.

Webi was at one time part of a musical trio whose harmonising made me want to run out and get a CD of all the songs they sang. The oral tradition of storytelling in Kenya is being revived by groups like Zamaleo who are spreading its appreciation by performing both here and abroad.

Sigana’s Sixth International Storytelling Festival brought together Kenyan and Danish storytellers who dramatised delightful tales from Kenya, Ghana, Denmark and Japan.

They were accompanied by a talented team of Kenyan musicians playing indigenous instruments like the single-string orutu played by George Achieng, the njembe drum and marimba (xylophone) played by Titus Ngala, a huge animal horn blown by Joseph Ojunga and more percussions by Willie Rama and Rose Kinjanjui, who doubled up as one of the Zamaleo storytellers.

The other Kenyan Zamaleo storytellers included Alumbe Helen, Wangari Grace, Lucy Wellah and John Namai. Newton Kweya served as the festival MC. The three demonstrative Danes included Anna Grethe Bech, Marianne Christensen and Kamilla Holm. The youthful Kenya Utamaduni Junior Dancers complimented the storytellers’ tales with their vigorous movements.

Hate by Shakespeare, which was produced last weekend at the Karen Country Club, introduced a form of acting known as chamber theatre, directed by playwright Robin Denault. Samson Psenjen, Charles Oudo, Chao Mwatela and Jack Gitonga, rather than moving freely around a stage, stood in one spot with script in hand, dramatising Denault's elegant script which, like his earlier Love by Shakespeare, combined three of Shakespeare’s plays, Richard the Third, Henry the Fifth and Macbeth in one original plot that not only offered rare insight into the Bard’s historical plays, it also allowed us to witness awesome performances by four of Nairobi’s finest actors.

Shakespeare staged in such a stationary format might sound dull, but what chamber theatre does is rely more on the Bard’s melodious words and the power of the performers’ voices than on their physical motion on stage.

The Shakespearean actor from Canada wanted to make the Bard more accessible to wider audiences who in the past may have shied away from his works because they couldn't understand his Elizabethan English.

Busolo’s City Dads also relied on the voices of the cast, particularly the songs that essentially summarised the feelings elicited following each scenario staged. The storyline was based on Seth and Daisy Busolo’s research into the joys, trials and challenges of being a father in Kenya today.

Scheduled to coincide with Father’s Day, Seth Busolo’s script synthesised the experience of nine long-suffering dads who struggle with issues related to fatherhood, from telling children about sex to coping with staggering bills such as those that hospitals send after insisting the wife must have a costly Caesarian section.

Mixing humour and heart-warming lyrics while revealing men’s vulnerabilities and secret fears, City Dads told tales that one rarely hears from Kenyan men in public today.

Looking forward, Heartstrings Kenya opens this Tuesday night at Alliance Francaise in their new production, Kenyan Hustlers and Gatherers, which is bound to be hilarious, Sammy Mwangi having mastered the skill of combining social commentary with humour.

Finally, the new Ubuni’s School of Media and Creative Arts organised its second successful scriptwriting workshop last weekend. This time Keith Kinambuga of the Kenya Writers Guild concentrated on the fine points of Writing for ‘Episodic TV’.

WINI AWUONDO WOWS LOCAL ART LOVERS WITH HER SURREAL ART

Wini Awuondo’s art debuts at Shifteye Gallery

 

Wini Awuondo just had her first solo exhibition at the Shifteye Gallery in The Priory. Her exhibition was opened by Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero. Photo / Margaretta wa Gacheru 

 

By Margaretta wa Gacheru Posted  Thursday, June 12  2014 at  18:03

In Summary

• Designing each of her paintings in painstaking detail, what I find most intriguing about her art is that it’s quite unlike anyone else’s in the Nairobi art world.

Wini Awuondo’s recent exhibition of refined paintings and drawings at Shifteye Gallery in Priory House revealed one of the freshest new faces on the Kenya visual art scene. Making her debut in her first one-woman show in Nairobi, Wini aptly entitled her display of mixed media paintings ‘Unmasked’.

It’s appropriate because she’s chosen to invest heavily imagination-wise in every one of her paintings. It’s as if she lays herself bare through her art, showing us how much energy, artistry and love of vibrant life-affirming colours she has.

Working in bright acrylic hues painted on either canvas, paper or wood, she accentuates the fine lines of her mostly androgynous creatures with carefully drawn pen and ink.

Designing each of her paintings in painstaking detail, what I find most intriguing about her art is that it’s quite unlike anyone else’s in the Nairobi art world. That could be due to her studies abroad in the UK where she gained global exposure to international art trends and traditions. The result is that one can see a wide range of influences in her artwork.

For instance, the feathers that feature in many of her works seem reminiscent of iconic images of American Indians whose headdresses are distinctive for their majestic effect. Yet the Joy Adamson collection of her pre-Independence paintings of Kenyan communities in their traditional costumes, jewellery and weaponry currently exhibiting at the Nairobi National Museum clearly shows that Kenyans also dressed in feather head wear and animal skin capes, loin cloths and skirts.

The point is that Wini’s style of painting is worldly in that it transcends national boundaries, typical imagery and genre.

On the one hand, one might suggest that her paintings are portraiture since each one is focused on a single entity having eyes (sometimes just one, two, three or more), noses and mouths, although ears tend to be absent. And mouths could be connected to two bodies not one; the noses tend to be flat, multi-coloured and placed in irregular spots.

What’s more, Wini seems to take every creature’s appendage as an opportunity to try out another colour and design. That’s especially true in the case of her dancers whose graceful poses appear to be like those found among East Indian Hindu temple dancers.

Wini herself described the beings that she paints as mainly ‘androgynous’, although she also seems to feature more female creatures than male in Unmasked. Nonetheless, all her paintings are suffused with colour that’s decked out in intricate and decorative designs.

Those designs almost look like tattoos in the sense that they seem to be directly applied to what would otherwise be understood as human skin. Yet one can’t be certain Wini’s creatures are even human since they all have a surreal appearance and feel that makes them seem more like aliens from outer space.

In fact, Wini’s work is actually borne in her inner space, lodged securely inside her inner world of the creative, intuitive and wildly imaginative.

On opening night, her exhibition was opened by Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, a long-time friend of the Awuondos. Wini’s parents were also on hand, clearly proud and pleased that their daughter has found her passion and career path.

Wini told BDLife that her father, Isaac Awuondo, the managing director of the Commercial Bank of Africa, has always been supportive of her choice to go to art school instead of law or medical school. Being a lover of fine art himself and putting a chunky sum of money into funding art collections in all CBA branches, Mr Awuondo said that he owned several paintings by his daughter which, of course, he had bought.

The price of Wini’s paintings range from Sh12,500 (acrylics on paper) to Sh95,000 (for the acrylic on canvas, Now until Forever).

Wini’s been back from university for almost two years, but she only surfaced late last year when two of her paintings were featured among the works of around 40 other mainly Kenyan artists.

Those two works stood out for me, but as I didn’t know her at the time, I had to wait to see her art again at Shifteye to fully appreciate Wini’s versatility and wide ranging artistic and vibrant style.

Meanwhile, at least one of Kenya’s many visual artists will have his work on show at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Elkana Ong’esa’s 10-ton Kisii stone elephant entitled “Hands off our Elephants” is being shipped to Washington, DC this coming week.

DO PERIMETER WALL PROVIDE REAL SECURITY?

Living behind high walls 

An estate along the Northern by pass in Runda. Photo/FILE 

By EVELYN SITUMA and MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

Posted  Thursday, May 22  2014 at  16:49

In Summary

• Simple fences are slowly disappearing and replaced by high walls for security reasons

inShar

Walls rise up in the leafy suburbs of the city imposing their might and stature on every passer-by.

These high mortar and brick perimeter walls are what many home owners are spending tens of thousands of shillings on, just to secure their homes and keep intruders and criminals away.

The question of whether or not these structures keep criminals away is debatable.

While there are those who believe their investment in the walls has paid off, some don’t quite understand how a thief could overcome a detailed security system and manage to steal from a well secured compound even when they have erected walls.

The Bangladesh high commissioner to Kenya was two months ago attacked and robbed at his residence in Karen. In his interview with a television station, he expressed his shock over the experience.

According to him, he was astonished that thieves broke in, yet he had a perimeter wall, a guard and CCTV surveillance system.

On the other hand, artist Tabitha Wa Thuku lives in another leafy Nairobi suburb without having invested in erecting walls. Yet she has never had a problem with thieves breaking into her home and studio.

“My neighbors all of whom have high perimeter walls and still have gotten robbed in their homes, ask me why it is that my place has not been attacked. Several have even suggested that I might have a hand in the break-ins, which of course is ridiculous,” said the artist.

Admitting she has no interest in building a wall around her home, Tabitha says the thieves probably know they won’t find much money and few material things of value.

Insecurity

“Most of them do not know that visual art can be worth thousands of shillings, which is good for me,” said Tabitha who has exhibited her art in most of the galleries and museums in Nairobi. It has also been shown overseas with much success.

The level of insecurity in the country has made people desperate. Shunning picket fences, chain-link and rail fences, a good number of home owners are investing in stone walls for security and privacy.

Doreen, a resident in Rongai, opted for a fence to keep intruders away.

“I would hang clothes to dry outside only to find them gone,” said Doreen. Since she put up a stone walled fence, she hasn’t lost anything. The fence she adds has also saved her from noisy neighbours who used to peep regularly into her yard.

Though most homeowners don’t mind having this perimeter walls, some perceive them as a prison of sorts.
Stephen Omwando, Group Chief Executive Office of KK Security disagrees. He says, stone walls are a deterrent to criminals. Although he adds that they don’t necessarily keep thieves away, but they certainly delay them from looting.

“Once you have a perimeter wall, your house becomes a hard target,” he said.

The choice of fencing styles and materials is based on one’s assumption of what really can guarantee maximum security. Green hedged fences made with either indigenous trees or prickly bushes like cay-apple are affordable and have aesthetic appeal in a compound.

But even with their boganvillias and leafy shrubs, residents in posh estates add some aspects of security to keep intruders at bay, such as censored lights.

Gated community

In the final analysis, homeowners are bound to be told that they must have either a stone or brick and mortar wall to keep out undesirable members of society.

They might even be encouraged to add electrical wire fencing on top of their wall to further ensure protection of their home.

Whatever the case, whether one lives in a gated community or in an open-air home like Tabitha’s, one is best advised to be conscious that one need never be naïve about living in Nairobi since it’s a city like most capital cities in the world where the gap between rich or middle class and poor, haves and have-nots is wide.

That means there will always be a temptation among some to bridge that gap by any means necessary, including people coming into complete strangers’ homes and taking whatever they want.

So the need is to be wise and vigilant while deciding how best to feel safe in your own home, since everyone would like to believe their home is their secure castle.

CREATIVITY'S THE KEY TO ALL THAT'S ARTISTIC, BEAUTIFUL AND LIFE AFFIRMING: MASK

MASK awards to promote creativity in rural schools

 

First prize winner Louis Nderi with Industrialist Manu Chandaria & Alla Tkachuk. Photo/Margaretta Wa Gacheru  

By Margaretta Wa Gacheru

Posted  Thursday, May 29  2014 at  15:44

In Summary

Kenya’s education system needs to change fast to offer training in creativity and teach youth how to think innovatively so as to generate new ideas and enterprises of their own.

inShar

Drawing a direct line between art, innovation and entrepreneurship, Dr Manu Chandaria was the perfect guest speaker to launch the 2014 Mask Awards ceremony.

Only the second set of awards given since Alla Tkachuk founded her Mobile Arts School in Kenya (MASK) seven years ago. Dr Chandaria spoke with a passion and sense of urgency that was refreshing but disturbing at the same time at the ceremony held last week at the University of Nairobi’s School of Art and Design.

Referring to the “six million” youth who have left school with no clear career path, he said Kenya’s education system needed to change fast to offer training in creativity, to teach youth how to think innovatively in order to generate new ideas and enterprises of their own.

In her opening remarks, Ms Tkachuk said creativity was defined as “the ability to generate new ideas”. She has been teaching that skill to rural youth through the arts since 2007.

Calling her program a mobile arts school since her ‘school’ has no fixed abode. Ms Tkachuk started her painting project out of appreciation for the Kenyans who were so hospitable to her. Teaching art was the one thing she felt she could to give.

The response to her teaching was overwhelming, especially as the Kenyan school curriculum has no room for the arts. Teachers advised her how best to stir public awareness on the value of visual arts and creativity with a national art competition that offered cash prizes.

The success of her project was manifest last week when she and Dr Chandaria handed out awards to young people and rural schools, which had impressed the judges, with their paintings and videos.

The first prize of Sh50,000 went to 23-year-old Louis Nderi for his photograph inspired by Lupita Nyongo’s statement at the Oscars, “Your dreams are valid”. “I took her words to mean there are no boundaries, no limits to what we can do if we hold to our dreams,” said Nderi.

Nine-year-old orphan, Clement Murithi, who created a mixed media ‘painting’ of a fish made out of metal bottle tops took home the second prize of Sh30,000.

Onesmus Okamar, a 19-year-old, from Amagoro, Busia, took home the third prize of Sh25,000. A form two drop out due to lack of school fees Okmar said he’d been inspired by Michelangelo and Leonardo di Vinci to want to create art that would one day be in history books.

Two schools won Sh50,000, each, for their students producing innovative works of art. Darubini Talent Academy, which was started in 2011 in Kiserian by former GoDown artist Esther Makuhi, and Nyumbani Lawson Secondary.

Each winner had a touching story including 16-year-old Joel Gatua who dropped out of school due to lack of fees.

An opportunity to start painting with Tkuchur has seen him speak about creativity and entrepreneurship at UNESCO, in Paris.

With two successful businesses he is living proof of the value of teaching the youth about art and creativity. He also teaches art privately in Laikipia West and often talks to parents advocating teaching of art and creativity in schools.

The MASK awards this year introduced a new category of creative expression. The award called on people to send in videos with rappers Cr3w Teflon, dubbed The Children’s Anthem, being awarded Sh50,000. The rap group, made up of Ben Vic and Timmy Tim tells the of a little girl who’d lost both parents and had no one to look after her.