Established in 1995, Kuona Trust has been at the forefront of developing the visual art scene in Kenya over the last 20 years. The trust was established with the aim of promoting and nurturing young artists through provision of studio space, training and mentorship, economic empowerment and provision of opportunities. Kuona Trust now has a highly successful art centre in Nairobi that is open to the public 7 days a week, providing a holistic artistic experience that includes art workshops to (...)
Established in 1995, Kuona Trust has been at the forefront of developing the visual art scene in Kenya over the last 20 years. The trust was established with the aim of promoting and nurturing young artists through provision of studio space, training and mentorship, economic empowerment and provision of opportunities. Kuona Trust now has a highly successful art centre in Nairobi that is open to the public 7 days a week, providing a holistic artistic experience that includes art workshops to support build capacity of artists, a resource centre, educational programmes targeted at various audiences – the public, policy makers and artists themselves that use various forms of art as media, public and outreach projects as well as exhibitions.
Over the past 20 years nearly all Kenyan and many other African artists have benefited from Kuona Trust with at least 1,000 artists having participated in Kuona Trust’s programmes. Kuona has played a vital role in the development of the careers of some of Kenya’s greatest contemporary artists while providing opportunities for artists to excel. All Kuona Trust activities are carried out to find and nurture innate artistic talent ; to creating new spaces for artistic expression ; to improve capacity and opportunities for professional artists ; to address contemporary art ideas and issues through various projects and art programmes.
www.facebook.com/Kuona-Trust-Art-Centre
Sheila Akwany
Sheila Akwany is Kuona Trust’s Programmes Officer. She works closely with artists on art programmes and projects that range from technical workshops, public art projects, community based art workshops, international and regional residencies and artist mentoring sessions. Sheila is currently working on the development of a 3 year artist incubator programme that aims to nurture the growth and development of artists. In the last five years, she has been working in a variety of art projects and has had extensive experience in Project Management and amassed a wide range of skills in monitoring and evaluation.
Paul Onditi
Born in 1980 in Rachuonyo, Kenya, Paul Onditi is an established artist living and working in Nairobi. Onditi studied at Offenbach Academy of visual of Communication in Germany. Onditi loves mixing genres, materials, techniques and media. He patches them together to visualize ideas and imaginative worlds. With an impressionistic sensibility and futuristic imagination, Onditi seems to deliberately hit the soft spot of our time. He is in between time, place, phases, and positions. Onditi’s work have featured in the 1:54 Art fair in London and New York, Cape town Art fair, Arthouse Lagos, Gallery Frankfurt, Goethe Institut Nairobi, Art space Nairobi and Volta New York.
