15/06/2011

Art in Nairobi: Watatu Gallery

  An exhibition of new and old works by three of Kenya’s most celebrated artists, Tabitha wa Thuku, Yony Waite and Annabelle Wanjiku, started last week at the Watatu Gallery.

Three female painters.

Tabitha wa Thuku live in her rural home in the Kiambu district of Kenya.



 In her eyes, "artists are gifted with the ability to interpret messages from a place beyond themselves", the gallery owner wrote on the gallery's site.

For over twenty years, she has produced an imaginative form of art aficionados that captivates in East Africa and abroad.

Living in the Nyeri region of Kenya, Annabelle Wanjiku started with her journeys to the local river to draw water. 


Today, her airy, dream-like compositions and unwavering commitment to creation remain the soil that grounds the roots of contemporary East African art and nurtures the dreams of aspiring artists.


The third artist represented in the exhibition is Yony Waite



Born in California, she has lived Kenya since 1963. During her early years in East Africa, she was disappointed there was almost no place for artists to exhibit paintings. Yearning for a space where artists could share their work, Waite and two friends then co-founded Gallery Watatu in 1968. 

Waite ran the Gallery until Ruth Shaffner took over in 1984. She nowadays devotes her tome to painting and she cultivates an art movement in the East African art scene.
The Gallery remains a unique space for displaying paintings. A treasure in Nairobi, in the heart of the city centre, that I highly recommend.


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Details:

Exhibition Opening: June 3, 2011
Galerie Watatu
Lonrho Africa Hse, Mezzanine Flr. Standard Street
Nairobi, Kenya
www.gallerywatatu.com

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