Lecture on Artist-in-Residence by James Muriuki

Artist-in-Residence Symposium 2017 (Kyoto Art Center): a symposium considering the kinds of networks built through artist-in-residence activities. February 4 (Sat), 2017. Kyoto Art Center, Auditorium. Part 1: Discussion (13:30–15:00), “Movement and Creative Practice.”

Nara Prefectural University International Seminar: Art in the Global Era — Artist-in-Residence and Regional Creativity. Date: February 8 (Wed), 2017. Venue: Nara Prefectural University, Regional Exchange Building, 1F Small Seminar Room.

Creative practice that unfolds across national borders and cultural differences, shaped by artists’ observations and their exchanges with local people, can also offer hints for building creative and vibrant local communities.

In this seminar, we welcome James Muriuki from Kenya, who will speak from his experience as both artist and curator about the relationship between movement and creative practice, and, further, about the potential of artist-in-residence programmes as a form of regional creativity. As contemporary African art is still rarely introduced in Japan, this is also a valuable opportunity to encounter it directly, and the seminar will be open to the general public. We warmly invite you to join us.

Artist Biography

James Muriuki was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and is an artist and curator based there. Working across photography, video, sound, installation, and other media, his work captures the transformation of a rapidly developing urban space and has been exhibited and collected both in Kenya and abroad. Major solo exhibitions include “In TRANSITION” (Roots Contemporary, Brussels, 2011) and “Rear View” (Goethe-Institut, Nairobi, 2010). Major group exhibitions include “NotAboutKarenBlixen” (Intercultural Museum Oslo, 2014), “Who is the City” (Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, Stockholm, 2013), and “Layers” (Nairobi National Museum, Nairobi, 2012).