17 AUGUST 2024AAAA VISITS KUONA ARTISTS COLLECTIVE-NAIROBIArt, in its inception stage, is at its purest. The concepts, ideas and inspiration behind each composition is examined before the execution. This is why AAA visited KUONA ARTISTS COLLECTIVE.
Founded in 1998 and originally known as Kuona Trust, the establishment that is located in Nairobi’s Hurlingham area has been the birthplace of many an artistic career and still home of some of its biggest talents.A facility that houses multiple studios, this art hub was created to host artists in multimedia disciplines by offering residency programmes that ensured both individual and collective interactions to generate artistic compositions. FRED ABUGAYASSIR ALIGAKUNJU KAIGWAKaigwa comes from a family of artists and thespians, but has stood out for over 3 decades for his one-off sculptures. Working in multiple mediums of wood, resin, metal among others, he has exhibited within Kenya and abroad as he continues to create an impressive portfolio of memorable pieces.JOY MARINGAJoy is a Kenyan conceptual artist that formerly worked as a make-up artist. Her pieces examine the interactions between the human body and the environment around them. She produces multiple pieces of various parts of the human anatomy, mainly favouring repetition of body parts, but variation of adornments. She has only just joined the fold at AAA and we look forward to exhibiting her work in our Diani Beach gallery space.
AAA continues to build on its already impressive resumé of artists by continuing to forge partnerships with the best artistic talent in the region and providing a platform for it to be admired and collected worldwide.Painters, sculptors, mixed media artists, print makers, textile artists among many others have participated in their creative processes during the 26 years of the facility’s existence. AAA visited Kuona Artists Collective with a view of reviewing past relationships and creating new ones as this is one of our core missions: fostering sustainable art through contact with established and
emerging artists.Fred’s pieces that consist of various scenes from Kenyan urban and village living have to be some of the most recognizable, with his horizontal stripes of rich paint being a hallmark of a very successful career spanning almost three decades.
The artist has worked together with Reuben Onsinyo, the Almasi Art Agency's Director, for almost 15 years, a period during which he has been the best-selling artist represented.In 2007, Sudanese-born Yassir joined the then Kuona Trust for a residency programme and has come along in leaps and bounds. With his unique work based on Nubian symbols and Egyptian hieroglyphs, Yassir is now one of East Africa’s most notable artists and has been widely exhibited and collected.
