By Isaac Miriri
Published March 26, 2008

After seven years at Rahimtulla Tower in Upper Hill, Nairobi�s Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art (RaMoMA) has relocated to Second Parklands Avenue, off Limuru Road, with effect from April 15, 2008.

RaMoMa was launched in January 2001 as a museum and gallery to create a collection of contemporary African art. Created with the aim of collecting and exhibiting art works, says curator and gallery manager James Muriuki RaMoMA strives to create and showcase current art through art education and cultural exchange.

The space, though given free to RaMoMA by the Rahimtulla Trust, had grown small over the years and could hardly handle the temporary exhibits. This saw the permanent collection removed from display and stored away.

The new home of RaMoMA is located within a 10-minute drive from the Nairobi Central Business District and only five minutes from the refurbished Nairobi National Museum.

The premises were bought by the Valdor Trust which gave it in trust to RaMoMA.

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With this big L-shaped two-storey building with an 1100 square meter exhibition space as its home, RaMoMA may not suffer from shrinking space at grows. This is especially so as it has access to another spacious single storey building that it plans to use as a museum shop and a restaurant.

The ground floor houses a dedicated space for RaMoMA�s permanent collection, a children’s wing in which to create and exhibit art, an Installation gallery, an office for the Pamoja Dance Company as well as RaMoMA’s administrative offices.

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The top floor houses a revolving exhibition space to showcase one artist�s work on a monthly basis, another gallery for renting out, a photography gallery, and a Friends of RaMoMA lounge and an office.

Besides an outdoor sculpture garden and an open air stage and performance area, the new home also has space for a resource centre, an open access print studio, a tea shop, an artist�s meeting area, an artist studio and an apartment for artists in residence.

“With the growth comes the challenge of sensitising artists and creating awareness on the public here and in East Africa,” Muriuki says. “Although Valdor Trust has donated the premises to us in trust and Ford Foundation still provides the bulk of the funding in helping to run the day-to-day activities of the RaMoMA, we still need more funding from corporate and private sponsors due to the current high expenses of running the place.”