Exhibition: Amalgamation – Paintings by Drishti Chawla, Jul. 5-31 2018 @ Nairobi National Museum

Dates: Jul 5 – 31, 2018
Venue: Creativity Gallery, National Museum
Open daily 8.30am to 5.30pm
Entry: Museum Rates Apply

EU Film Festival Highlights, Until May 27 2018 @ Various Venues in Nairobi

Dates: Until May 27, 2018
Venues: Various
Time: from 2 pm Daily (Workshops start from 10 am)
Entry: Free

Download Eff 2018_Festival Highlights (pdf)

International Museums Day: Hyper Connected Museums: New Approaches, New Publics, May 18 & 19 2018 @ National Museum

Dates: May 18 & 19, 2018
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium, National Museum
Time: 4 pm
Lecture: KES 400 and Students KES 200/-

Speakers: Meave Leakey and Pheroze Nowrojee

European Film Festival at the National Museum of Kenya, May 11-13 2018 @ the National Museum of Kenya

Dates: May 11-13, 2018
Venue: the National Museum of Kenya, Louis Leakey Auditorium
Time: from 10 am daily
Entry: Free

Programme
Friday 11 May
10:00 Workshops (Kenya Scriptwriter’s Guild)
15:00 The Best of All Worlds (A. Goinginger, 2017, 103mins, Austria)
17:00 I am not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni, 2017, 93mins, UK)
19:00 A Girl, the Mother and the Demons (S. Osten, 2016, 93mins, Sweden)
20:15 Q&A

Saturday 12 May
10:00 Workshops (Kenya Scriptwriter’s Guild)
15:00 Great Grandad’s Tall Tales (T.M. Rostboll/L. Glob, 2016, 10mins, Denmark)
15:45 Obaba (Montxo Armendariz, 2005, 112mins, Spain)
17:45 Ma Vie de Courgette (C. Barras, 2016, 66mins, Switzerland)
19:00 Love Likes Coincidences (O. F. Sarok, 2011, 118mins, Turkey)

Sunday 13 May
10:00 Workshops (Kenya Scriptwriter’s Guild)
15:00 Sputnik (Markus Dietrich, 2013, 130mins, Germany)
17:30 Anniversary (Dan Chisu, 2017, 86mins, Romania)
19:00 Kati Kati (Mbithi Masya, 2016, 75mins, Germany/Kenya)

Download the EFF 2018 Programme (PDF)

Screenings: 27th EU Film Festival, May 4-27 2018 @ Various Venues in Nairobi

Dates: May 4-27, 2018
Venues: Michael Joseph Centre, Metta, The Alchemist, Goethe Instiut, August 7th Memorial, National Museum, Alliance Française and National Theatre
Entry: Free

More information, available, here.

Download the EFF 2018 Programme (pdf)

Talk: SGR and the Nairobi National Park – Laying the Tracks Towards a National Disaster by Akshay Vishwanath, May 5 2018 @ Nairobi National Museum

Date: May 5, 2018
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium, National Museum
Time: 3.15 pm for 4 pm
Tickets: KES 500/- for Guests

Graffiti Session at the National Museum with the BSQ Crew! Dec. 8 2017 @ National Museum

BSQ at the NMK | Image via the NMK

Date: December 8, 2017
Venue: Nairobi National Museum
Time: 2 pm

The group will also have an exhibition – NextGen – at the Museum, Creativity Gallery – running until January 15, 2018

About
Join the artists on Friday 8th December at 2PM for a fun and interactive graffiti session in the gallery!

The bomb squad crew (BSQ) is a street art group consisting of young Kenyan artists. The group formed in 2011 and hails from the city streets of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It is made up of members with a passion and love for art, specifically mural work and graffiti. The exhibition titled NextGen is BSQ’s first major exhibition. The public is invited to join the artists on Friday 8th December at 2PM for a fun and interactive graffiti session in the Nairobi National Museum’s Creativity Gallery!

NextGen is an exhibition about the next generation, a generation that has forgotten the beauty of our culture. The artists use a variety of techniques in collaborative and individual works to investigate how our culture is affected today by the mixture of traditional and technological influences.

BSQ hopes to show museum visitors that street art is not only for vandalism but can be displayed in a museum gallery to express and address different societal issues, in this case to portray how technology has affected our culture both positively and negatively.
BSQ have managed to carve up a name for themselves as the most energetic, inspiring and creative art crew in East and Central Africa. BSQ is a group of young Kenyan artist formed in 2011.

http://bsqart.com/home/

Exhibition: Safari – In Search of Latent Talent by Emmanuel Kariuki, Oct. 10-31 2017 @ Temporary Gallery – National Museum

Painting by Emmanuel Kariuki | via NMK

Dates: October 10-31, 2017
Venue: Temporary Gallery, National Museum

Paintings, sculptures and other arts, by Emmanuel Kariuki

Exhibition by Oliver Okoth Martin, On Going – Until September 17 2017 @ Creativity Gallery – Nairobi National Museum

Painting by Martin Okoth | via the NMK

Dates: On Going – Until September 17, 2017
Venue: Creativity Gallery, Nairobi National Museum
Time: Daily 8.30am to 5.30pm
Entry: Normal rates will apply

About
Oliver Martin Okoth is a free lance commercial artist based in Nairobi and Kisumu who conceptualizes music on canvas. As a conceptual artist he tries to give an illustration on what he perceives the musicians songs are about.

In this exhibition he focuses on the legendary Michael Jackson. Okoth has participated in several exhibitions which include:
– Group Show, National Museums of Kenya (supported by Absolute Vodka), Nov -Dec 2012.
– Tupac All eyes on me, Kenya railways art gallery, 2014
– Nobody can stop Reggae, Nairobi National Museum, Feb 2015.
– Hip Hop THE TRIBUTE, Karen Village 2016

Okoth also has a keen interest in children and has made coloring books to introduce them early to art. These can be purchased online. As an artist he believes art can change the course of a nation and he is keen on playing his part in this.

Museum and Society: The Hard Talk – A Contested Relationship, Jun. 3 2017 @ National Museum

A talk by Prof. George Abungu, Heritage Consultant and former Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya

Date: June 3, 2017
Venue: National Museum
Time: 3 pm

Cost: Adult Ksh 400, Student Ksh 200
Advance payment options: Safaricom: Mpesa Paybill, Business No: 400800, Account No: 6571570019, Airtel Money: 0780 755 231

Festival of Architecture: Five Defining Decades of the Built Environment, May 24-31 2017 @ ADD – UoN & National Museum

Dates: May 24-31, 2017
Venue: ADD – University of Nairobi & Nairobi National Museum

Lecture: Kenya’s Heritage – Contestations in its Presentation & Value! Prof. Karega Munene, May 27 2017 @ National Museum

Kenya’s Heritage: Contestations in its presentation and value!

A talk by Prof. Karega Munene, of the United States International University (Kenya)

Date & time: Saturday 27 May 2017, from 4 pm
Venue: National Museum
Cost: Adult Ksh 400, Student Ksh 200
Advance payment options: Safaricom: Mpesa Paybill, Business No: 400800, Account No: 6571570019, Airtel Money: 0780 755 231

Screenings: European Film Festival, May 16-24 2017 @ Alliance Française & National Museum

Dates: May 16-24, 2017
Venues: Alliance Française & National Museum of Kenya
Entry: Free

Programme

Download the EFF Screening Schedule (pdf)

Week 1 – at Alliance Française (junction of Loita and Monrovia Streets, near the University of Nairobi)
15 May 19.30 Victoria (drama/crime), Germany/Austria – by invitation only
16 May 17.30 Young Offenders (comedy), Ireland
16 May 19.30 Teorie Tygra – Tiger Theory (comedy), Czech Republic
17 May 17.30 Hotell – Hotel (drama), Sweden
18 May 17.30 Cahier Africain – African notebook (documentary), Switzerland
18 May 19.30 Takaisin Pintaan – Diving into the Unknown (documentary), Finland
19 May 17.30 Les Chavaliers Blancs – The White Knights (drama), France
19 May 19.30 Notes on Blindness (documentary), United Kingdom
20 May 15.30 Labyrinthus (family), Belgium
20 May 17.30 Diamantes Negros – Black Diamonds (drama), Spain
20 May 19.30 Moje córki krowy – These Daughters of Mine (comedy), Poland
21 May 15.30 Karpuz Kabungundan Gemiler Yapmak – Boats of Watermelon Rinds (family), Turkey
21 May 17.30 S Tebou ma bavi Slovenko – From Slovakia with Love (documentary), Slovakia
21 May 19.30 De Surprise – The Surprise (comedy), Netherlands

Week 2 – at the National Museum of Kenya (Kipande Road, Westlands)
22 May 17.30 L’Oriana (drama), Italy
23 May 17.30 Tokyo Fianceé – (comedy), Belgium
23 May 19.30 Victoria – (drama/crime), Germany/Austria
24 May 19.30 Gatos não Têm Vertigens – Cats Don’t Have Vertigo (comedy), Portugal

More information, here

Exhibition on Food Waste: Internationaler Künstlerverein e.V & Hawa Artists, Mar. 28 – Apr. 28 2017 @ the Nairobi National Museum

An exhibition on FOOD WASTE With artists from IKV Internationaler Künstlerverein e.V., Hawa Artists and the participation of the German Embassy in Nairobi.

Opening: March 28, 2017
Venue: National Museum

Until: April 28, 2017

Due to global mass-distribution the world is divided into the very rich and the very poor where a disconcerting percent of the population, especially children suffer from hunger. As taken the year 2050 will see an explosion of the population that will widen this gap – about 40 percent more food is needed! Research about the food distribution shows that at the moment nearly the same rate of food products is wasted either as crop on the fields, insufficient warehouses or transport, lack of processing or during distribution and at the consumer level.

The gap of available food and demand could be closed theoretically by a better transfer of know-how and a change of consumer habits. The exhibition of the IKV-Club of international artists supports the awareness of Food Waste as a challenge through this collaborative exhibition by African and German artists.

About
The exhibition is within the concept of the first African Food Waste Congress organized under the leadership of the University of Nairobi that brings together worldwide experts in agriculture, food processing and the total supply chain to work towards solutions for this problem.

Museum Fun Day: New Year Activities, Jan. 1 2017 @ National Museum

Date: January 1, 2017
Venue: Nairobi National Museum
Museum & Snake Park Entrance: KES 300/- Adults and KES 150/- Kids

Exhibition: Paint & Metal by Mary Ogembo & Dickens Otieno, Dec. 10 2016 – Jan. 14 2017 @ Creativity Gallery – National Museum

Dates: December 10, 2016 to January 14, 2017
Venue: Creativity Gallery, National Museum
Time: Open Daily; 8.30 am – 5.30 pm
Museum Rates Apply

About
Mary Ogembo’s paintings are rich with vibrant Earth colors that bring about the state of the African environment. She is inspired by the African woman and applies unconventional, engaging and fun concepts that overlook the negative stereotype placed on the African woman.

Ogembo is a kenyan born artist who has been working as a full time artist since 1998. She is currently based at the GoDown Arts centre in Nairobi. 2005, she won commonwealth arts and craft award, worked in Ghana as a resident artist for a period of six months at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Her work has been widely recognized by local media in Kenya and other countries including, South African broadcasting cooperation, Featuring Africa Within, CNN Inside Africa 2011 and others.

Collected by: The National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe, The Standard Chartered bank UK and Casoria museum in Italy have collected her work.

Exhibitions: Kenya, France, USA, Egypt, Canada, Finland, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, India, Germany, Lithuania and Abu Dhabi.
_______________________________________

Dickens George Otieno’s (B.1979) practice is driven by the search to find meaning and worth in things that seem otherwise useless. Otieno weaves large sculptural fabrics and makes cloth sculpture from discarded drink cans which he collects from local kiosks near his home and studio. He compares the shredded cans to palm leaves which have been used traditionally for weaving through many generations and civilizations.

Clothing is important because apart from covering the body, it is also a statement about the person through the different designs of color, material and even the patterns printed on them which reflects the time and the world today.

Works at: The GoDown Art Centre in Nairobi, Kenya

Selected Exhibitions: Amsterdam art fair(2016), UN.FORM/MULTI.FORM(2016), Kenya Art FAIR (2016), Circle Modern and Contemporary East African Art Auction(2015), solo exhibitions at Nafasi Art Centre-Dar es Saalam(2015), Emerson Hurumizi Zanzibar(2015) and Manjano(2011)
His work is represented in various private collections

Out of Town: Swahili Fashion Week, Dec. 2-4 2016 @ National Museum – Dar es Salaam

Dates: December 2-4, 2016
Venue: National Museum – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Time: from 8.30 pm
Tickets: Tshs 40,000 at the Gate

#swahilifashionweek #sfw2016 pic.twitter.com/KIZCMsMziJ

— 2-4th Dec #SFW2016 (@swahilifashion) November 22, 2016

http://www.swahilifashionweek.com/

Exhibition: Dialogue with Evanson Kangethe Njuguna, Nov. 5-30 2016 @ National Museum

Dialogue by Evanson. Photo via the National Museum

Dates: November 5-30, 2016
Venue: National Museum

DIALOGUE
This exhibition is a selection of works that represent the artist’s long-term trajectory defined by figurative representational art, linism and ‘smoke painting’

Evanson Kangethe Njuguna began as a self-taught artist in 1982, then received art tuition from John Mayienga, lecturer Department of Design, University of Nairobi. In 1985-1987 he created murals on commission. In 1990-2011 held several solo and joint art exhibitions in such places as the Nairobi National Museum, French Cultural Center and Goethe Institute. Other works have been exhibited in Germany and USA, among other countries. Most recently he had a show at the British Institute in Eastern Africa. One of his sculptures is in permanent installation at the Nairobi National Museum. Kang’ethe also volunteers at Nest Childrens Home in Limuru as an art tutor as well as theatrical practices.

Exhibition: The Other Side by Yusuf Ssali, Aug. 26 -Sept. 20 2016 @ National Museum

Connectivity,A/C, 120×150am

Dates: Until September 20, 2016
Venue: National Museum

About Yusuf Ssali
Ssali yusuf has lived and practiced art in Kampala and Nairobi since 2002. He was born in Kireka –Wakiso Buganda in Uganda East Africa. He holds a degree in Engineering and Technology/Industrial Art and design from Makerere University Uganda. He is now a full –time visual artist. Ssali was featured in the Brussels Evere cultural cover magazine 2007 for his distinctive painting technique. He has exhibited extensively both locally and internationally and has received several awards for his outstanding creativity.

Exhibition: What We Need; What We Are Doing – by Gemini Vaghela, Sept.3-30 2016 @ National Museum

Image: Gemini Vaghela, Dry, A/C

Dates: September 3-30, 2016
Venue: National Museum

About
This is an exhibition of new works by Gemini Vaghela. The cross-cutting theme is on nature conservation especially in relation to long term sustainability of resources

Photo Exhibition: Reflections by Kim Byung Tae, Jun. 11 -Jul. 31 2016 @ Nairobi Museum

Reflections: A photo odyssey by Kim Byung Tae

Dates: June 11 – July 31, 2016
Venue: National Museum, Nairobi
Entry: Museum Rates Apply

Exhibition: The Legacy of Joy Adamson Phase II, Apr. 20 2016 @ National Museum

Opening: Wednesday, April 20 2016
Venue: National Museum
Time: 5.30 -7 pm

The Legacy of Joy Adamson Phase II
The second phase of the exhibition showing 57 more pieces of Joy’s paintings of the people, plants and animals of Kenya is complete.

Exhibition: Digitized by Adrian Nduma, Apr. 7 – 24 2016 @ National Museum

Digitized by Adrian Nduma | via the NMK

Opening: Thursday 7 April 2016
Venue: Creativity Gallery, National Museum
Time: from 6.30pm
Free Entry

Special Guest: Charles Murito, Country Manager – Google Kenya

Exhibition continues to 24 April 2016
Daily 8.30am to 5.30pm
Normal rates apply

Concert in the Dark With Aaron Rimbui & Kenya National Youth Orchestra, Mar. 31 2016 @ National Museum

Date: March 31, 2016
Venue: National Museum

Exhibition: Celebrating Women with Art by Bertiers, Until Mar. 31 @ Nairobi National Museum

Joseph Bertiers, Wangari Maathai a lady of commitment, Oil on Canvas, 182 x 253cm
(A National Museums of Kenya / VSArts collaboration)

Celebrating Women with art

Dates: Mar. 8-31 2016
Venue: Temporary Gallery, National Museum
Time: 8.30 – 5.30 pm
Entry: Normal Rates Apply

About
During this month of March the Nairobi National Museum displays a selection of art works in celebration of women. The museum will also pay homage to Prof. Wangari Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) by hosting a special gala at the museum in her honor.

Maathai was a renowned Kenyan environmental and political activist, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner 2004.

The gala will be graced by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.

Attendance to the gala is by invitation only

4th Nairobi International Cultural Festival: Windows of the World, Mar. 5 2016 @ the Nairobi Museum

Date: March 5, 2016
Venue: the Nairobi Museum Courtyard
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Entry: Free

5 continents 9 hours of amazing cuisine, Music, Dance, Arts and Fashion
Also, plenty of parking space!

Somali Heritage Week Concert, Nov. 21 2015 @ the National Museum

Date: November 21, 2015
Venue: the National Museum
Time: 7 pm to 12 am
Tickets: KES 500

Nairobi Festival of Performance and Media Arts, Nov. 13-15 2015 @ Goethe Institut, National Museum & Oshwal Academy

Dates: November 13-15, 2015
Venue: Goethe Institut, National Museum & Oshwal Academy
Tickets: KES 500 at the Gate and KES 400 advance

About
This is a three day dance and music festival, with performances at Goethe Institut on Friday the 13th, Leaky auditorium at the National Museum and a music concert at Goethe Institut on Saturday and a final family evening at Oshwal Academy, on Sunday the 15th.

Come and see amazing performances from Kenya, Spain, Germany, Rwanda, Tanzania, Netherlands, Belgium and Madagascar.

To book your tickets: CALL/ BOOK AND MPESA TO: 0706607306/ 0726394565 or EMAIL: dansukenia@gmail.com

Exhibition by Eight Eminent Chinese Artists, Oct. 26–30 2015 @ National Museum

Exhibition by Eight Eminent Chinese Artists

Opening: October 26, 2015
Time: 4.30 pm

Dates: October 27-30, 2015
Venue: National Museum
Entry: Normal Museum Rates Apply

About
The twentieth century has gone through many hardships and witnessed great changes in China. It is an epoch of heroes. Their emergence has added colour to the unfolding history of China.

This exhibition featuring members of the Chinese cultural elite in the 20th century will focus on the life and great deeds of nine outstanding representatives, who have exerted important influence on Chinese culture.

These eight famous persons are: Madam Song Qingling (AKA Soong Ching Ling), who once served as Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China, acclaimed as a great lady as well as our national treasure; Cai Yuanpei, China’s modern democratic revolutionist and a distinguished intellectual; Li Dazhao, one of the founders of Chinese Communist Party and the modern library in China; Lu Xun, the pioneer of China’s New Culture Movement, remembered as “the Soul of Our Nation”; Guo Moruo, an encyclopedic cultural giant and a famous social activist; Mao Dun, China’s modern literary giant; Lao She, a master of language also known as “the People’s Artist”; Xu Beihong, a prominent educator in the fine arts, “Father of Modern Chinese Painting”; Mei Lanfang, a master of the performing arts and the progenitor of the “Mei style” of Beijing Opera.

They shall forever be the pride of the Chinese Nation.

Every nation has nurtured its own eminent figures. The legacies left by these heroes belong not only to their country of birth, but to the whole world.

This exhibition is held with a view to enhance cultural exchange, understanding and friendship between China and Kenya by presenting China’s celebrities, Chinese culture and history.

Exhibition by Nine Artists from Uganda, Oct. 25 – Nov. 15 2015 @ National Museum

Image: Damba Ismail [Untitled] via National Museum of Kenya

Dates: October 25 – November 15, 2015
Venue: Creativity Gallery, National Museum
Time: Daily 8.30am – 5.30pm
Entry: Normal Museum Rates Apply

Paintings by: Anwar Sadat, Damba Ismail, Damulira Siraj, Kintu Paul, Kalungi Godfery, Ngula Yusuf, Paulo Akiiki, Tindi Ronnie and Waddimba Edward