Art from Nairobi's 'Shadow Cities'

Nairobi’s slums run on a functioning informal economy and have their own bars, restaurants, pharmacies, cinemas and street traders like any other neighbourhood. At the centre of these communities is a vibrant creativity and a visually evident wealth of artistic talent. This can be found in the huge mural in the Mathare slum created by graffiti artist Bankslave (Kevin Esendi), or in the performing arts programmes run by Sarakasi trust and the studio photography sessions held by Peter Olendo

Image courtesy of Think Africa

..."Ghetto" Art from KiberaWith an increase of wasani (artists) operating within Nairobi’s slums, many have come together to form collectives and establish art centres. One such group is Kibera’s "Maasai Mbili", whose name in Swahili means “the two Maasai”. The Maasai Mbili Art Centre was started in 2001 by Otieno Gomba and Otieno Kota, neither of whom are actually Maasai. The name refers to a time when the two artists would dress as Maasai to attract customers to their sign-writing business. Saving their earnings, these two artists rented a small two-storey building in Kibera and created a new art space, which became the "Maasia Mbili Art Centre". The studio attracted many other artists from Kibera who came to learn from one another. Today around ten artists use the studio as a space for their painting and sculpting.