The State of Art IN KENYA

Kenya’s art and creative sector is marked by vitality and constraint in equal measure. Across visual arts, performance, and community-led cultural practice, artistic output is growing in scale and diversity, even as economic sustainability remains fragile for most practitioners.

This report examines current artistic trends, dominant practices, geographic activity, and the economic structures that underpin Kenya’s creative economy. Rather than focusing on technology or platforms, it documents what artists are making, where culture is happening, and how value is created and constrained within the Kenyan context today.

Kenya’s visual arts ecosystem is not undergoing a dramatic transformation so much as a recalibration. Across Nairobi, Kisumu, and the coastal region, artists and cultural organisers are reshaping how art is produced and presented—less through spectacle and more through steady, community-rooted practice.

Group exhibitions remain the backbone of the exhibition calendar. These shows frequently explore themes of people, place, memory, and lived experience, positioning art as a form of social documentation rather than purely aesthetic production.

Large open exhibitions, often featuring hundreds of artists, have become increasingly common. While uneven in quality, they serve a critical function: visibility. In a constrained exhibition landscape, scale has become a substitute for access.

A generational shift is clearly visible. Younger artists are asserting themselves through experimentation with materials, scale, and subject matter.

Mixed media, textiles, photography, and installation have gained prominence, often incorporating found or recycled materials. This reflects both economic realities and a conceptual engagement with sustainability and everyday life.

Recurring themes include identity, mental health, environmental pressure, urban precarity, and belonging—suggesting an art practice shaped by contemporary social and economic conditions.

Women artists are more visible than in previous decades, both in solo presentations and collaborative exhibitions. Their work frequently addresses care, labour, domestic life, resilience, and social memory—subjects historically marginalised within mainstream exhibition narratives.

Alongside this has been a resurgence of collective practice. Artist groups, informal collectives, and community workshops play a central role in production, exhibition, and mentorship. In the absence of strong institutional support, collectives have become key economic and creative units.

Beyond gallery spaces, performance art, spoken word, and site-specific interventions remain central to Kenya’s cultural life. Public spaces—streets, markets, and informal venues—are frequently repurposed as sites of artistic expression.

Murals and protest art have become prominent features of urban landscapes, underscoring the continued role of art in civic discourse and social commentary. These works, often ephemeral, nonetheless shape public conversation and collective memory.

• Group exhibitions dominate the calendar
   
• Large open exhibitions (100+ artists) increasingly common
   
• Pop-up and short-run shows driven by cost constraints
   

• Nairobi: Primary centre for exhibitions, galleries, and performance
   
• Kisumu: Growing focus on community-based and museum-led programming
   
• Coastal region: Heritage-driven, craft-linked, and tourism-influenced art
   
• Informal settlements: Strong grassroots production and collective-led practice
   

• Painting (acrylic, oil, mixed media)
   
• Mixed media and found materials
   
• Sculpture and installation
   
• Photography
   
• Textile and fibre-based work
   
• Public murals and site-specific interventions
   

• Painting — 35%
   
• Mixed media — 20%
   
• Sculpture — 15%
   
• Photography — 12%
   
• Textile / fibre — 10%
   
• Performance & public art — 8%
  
   

Kenya’s art and creative sector is defined less by rapid growth than by endurance. Artists continue to produce, collaborate, and adapt within constrained conditions, sustaining cultural life through persistence rather than profitability.

The opportunity now lies in recognising this value—not as a peripheral activity, but as a meaningful contributor to Kenya’s economy, identity, and social fabric.

Ardhi Insights is a research and editorial initiative under Ardhi, a cultural platform supporting the creative economy through documentation, storytelling, partnerships, and sector analysis.