about
The Nairobi Art Project is a platform connecting artists, researchers, arts and culture practitioners, and communities across Kenya and Japan, cultivating new knowledge and relationships through Creative Practice, Research, and Co-Learning.
It was founded in 2009 by artist Yoshinari Nishio and Sakiko Nishio, a specialist in art management and African area studies, together with practitioners they met in Nairobi. Working in collaboration with a range of educational and research institutions, cultural organizations, artists, researchers, and local residents, the project develops a wide variety of art initiatives that cross the boundaries of art, culture, and community.
Its main activities include an artist-in-residence programme bringing together Japanese and Kenyan artists, study tours exploring Nairobi’s arts and culture from multiple angles, and “Arakawa Africa,” a project creatively connecting communities in Africa and Tokyo, alongside exhibitions, workshops, research, and publications.
Members
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Sakiko Nishio
Working at the intersection of art management and area studies, Sakiko Nishio explores the ecosystems through which creative practice generates value within society. She is engaged in building spaces and networks where people engaged in creative activity can learn from one another and collaborate. Her main research interests are contemporary African art and Nairobi-based art projects. She is a Specially Appointed Researcher at the Center for Innovative Research, Tokyo University of the Arts.
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Yoshinari Nishio
An artist and Professor in the Department of Inter-Media Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. Focusing on the relationship between the act of dressing and communication, he has developed projects in collaboration with citizens and students both in Japan and abroad. He has presented large-scale works at exhibitions and art festivals worldwide, and beyond planning and running art projects connecting Africa and Japan, he also runs the fashion brand "NISHINARI YOSHIO."
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Peter Mwashi Litonde
A Nairobi-based community development practitioner and co-founder of the non-profit organization Smiles Africa Experience. He is also a writer, working in the fields of education, child rights advocacy, youth support, human rights, and community empowerment. He has led participatory projects in informal settlements including Korogocho, and in recent years has also worked on cultural and educational projects that draw on arts and theatre education as well as digital technology.
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David Omondi Wagude
David Omondi Wagude studied sports science and judo in the Department of Sports Science at Kenyatta University, and works as an instructor at gyms across Nairobi. As a student, he studied Japanese language and judo, and competed in the Kenya Japanese Speech Contest. Drawing on the everyday sensibility and physicality he developed growing up in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, he has worked as a researcher, performer, and facilitator on art projects and workshops.
Collaborators
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James Muriuki
A leading Kenyan artist and photographer based in Nairobi, working across photography, video, sound, and other lens-based media to explore urbanization, social transformation, and the relationship between people and their environment. His work, which captures the rapid development and everyday scenery of Nairobi from a poetic yet critical perspective, has earned wide international recognition, and he has taken part in exhibitions and residencies across Africa and around the world.
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Wajukuu Artist Collective
Founded in 2004 in Mukuru, an informal settlement in Nairobi. Centred on art, education, and community empowerment, the collective harnesses the transformative power of art to address the socioeconomic and personal challenges that arise from difficult living conditions. Through artistic expression, it creates spaces where children and young people can build resilience and independence. In 2022, the collective took part in documenta in Kassel, Germany, and received the Arnold Bode Prize.
Nairobi Art Map
Dummy text: a map of the museums, galleries, artist bases and project sites that Nairobi Art Project has visited so far. More locations will be added over time.
Contact
For inquiries or requests related to the Nairobi Art Project, please contact us at the email address below. The Nairobi Art Project and this website are planned and run by Nishio Kosakusho Nairobi Branch. Beyond its own projects—including art projects, artist-in-residence programmes, study tours, and workshops—Nishio Kosakusho Nairobi Branch also undertakes commissioned work in translation, editing, coordination, and research related to contemporary African art.