By Ogova Ondego
Published April 2, 2015
Kenya’s arts calendar for April is brimming with interesting activities.
Nairobi National Museum (NNM) is hosting two art exhibitions in its Creativity and Temporary galleries.
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Stephen Njenga’s show, that runs in the Creativity Gallery, April 3-30, 2015, is a collection of oils on canvas paintings exploring colours, shapes, forms and patterns.
Inspired by the environment around him, the themes of this artist who has been practising for at least two-and-one-half decades, are mainly humans and wildlife.
Running 2.30PM-5.30PM daily, April 1-8, 2015, in NNM’s Temporary Gallery is an exhibition with the motto ‘Art Needs You’.
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Sponsored by Barclays Bank in partnership with Kuona Art Trust, the work being exhibited is from Barclays L’Atelier Art Competition of South Africa that the organisers and curators describe as “South Africa’s most prestigious art contest, offer exceptional exposure, outstanding growth opportunities and once-in-a-lifetime international art residency prizes.”
Painting live at Diani Beach Art Gallery’s Easter Party 2015 on Kenya’s Indian Ocean’s south Coast on April 4, 2015 at 6.00PM shall be Nairobi-based artist Onyis Martin. Artists, art lovers and collectors are invited to the celebration.
Theatre, too, is on the cards. The auditorium of the Alliance Française at the confluence of Loita and Monrovia streets in the Nairobi CBD shall host Simple Men & Sins and Secrets, a presentation of a group known as Hearts of Art; the play is directed by Peter Kawa and Martin Muluka and runs April 10-12, 2015 at 2.30PM and 6.00PM. Gate charges are Sh800 per head (Sh600 advance).
Kawa and Muluka describe their presentation as “a brand new TV Comedy Series that follows the young and trendy generation as they grapple with money, love and family dilemmas.”
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Saving Ugali, a panel presentation on how to protect the staple maize crop in the context of climate change, shall be held on the terrace of Alliance Française on April 8, 2015 at 6.30PM. No gate fee shall be charged.
Winding up the month, on April 27, 2015, shall be two films: TOGETHER by Roger James of Kenya and STOP THE NOISE by Environmental Film Festival of Accra, Ghana.
The films shall be shown and discussed in the framework of the 85th monthly Lola Kenya Screen film forum (LKSff) at Goethe-Institut.
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LKSff is a specialised platform for film screening, discussion and networking for practitioners in the audiovisual media sector of eastern Africa.
The aim of LKSff is to critique, encourage and explore ways of integrating film production in Kenya and eastern Africa with other socio-cultural and economic sectors in order to come up with a vibrant film industry.
LKSff is often one of the first places where new films can be seen and new talent spotted.
