Artists in Nairobi Imagine New Futures For The City and East Africa

The Nairobi Space Station initiative, a partnership between the art futurist
organization Kairos Futura, Documenta 2022 first prize winner, Wajukuu Arts and Brush Tu Artist Collective has brought together a diverse group of 20 artists and over a hundred volunteers to create immersive experiences, performance art, and public installations imagining the future of Nairobi.

Led by Abdul Rop, Lincoln Mwangi, and Ajax Axe, the initiative has already produced several captivating projects, including "KĨAMBĨRĨRIA," a time travel pod by Lincoln Mwangi, and "The Archdiocese of Kanairo," an installation by Daniel Nuru that offers a thought-provoking imagining of a post-industrial secret society. The initiative's focus on creative community engagement has spurred a range of artistic interventions throughout Nairobi. Over the coming months, the three artist collectives will be initiating additional art installations and creative interventions throughout the city, with a range of utopian and dystopian visions for Nairobi's future.

The Nairobi Space Station initiative aims to ignite the city's collective consciousness and encourage the public to envision new possibilities for the future of Nairobi. "Metamorphosis," a large-scale installation by Husna Ismail, represents a monster that has emerged from the pollution in the Ngong River and serves as a playground for children in the Mukuru informal settlement, promoting an appreciation of the arts and environmental conservation. Similarly, Wanjira Kinyua's "The Wrath of the Forest Spirit" serves as a reminder of the importance of considering the long-term effects of ecosystem destruction.

Nine of the Nairobi Space Station members have also developed wearable designs and art pieces in response to utopian and dystopian concepts of how we might live in a nomadic future in both Nairobi and East Africa. The Nairobi Space Station initiative underscores the power of art in driving social change and shaping the future of our cities. Through the collaboration of Kairos Futura, Brush Tu artist collective, and Wajukuu Arts, the initiative is poised to continue inspiring new ways of thinking about Nairobi's future, establishing Kenya's position as a leader in artistic innovation in East Africa. Workshops, installations and other creative forms of engagement will be ongoing throughout 2023.