Kobo Trust hosts student interns

Robert Mugambi, artist-intern at Kobo Trust, on August 20, 2023, during the interns’ Occupy Studio Exhibition. PHOTO | POOL

Working artists based at Kobo Trust hosted six Kenyatta University (KU) students during a one-day ‘Occupy Studio’ exhibition mounted last weekend.

The show, which occupied two levels of the gallery at Kobo, featured artworks created by the six during their three-month residency.

The bigger selection of paintings that the six had created during their stay was in the mini gallery next to the main exhibition hall while many of their works in progress were upstairs among the resident artists’ studios.

“The works being exhibited are exclusively by the student interns,” Kobo’s veteran artist, Onyis Martis, told BDLife a few minutes before the official opening of the show.

Onyis wanted to make that point clear since nearly all the older artists at Kobo had a hand in mentoring the half-dozen KU painter-interns.

Cheryl Awinner at the Occupy Studio exhibition at Kobo Trust, on August 20, 2023. PHOTO | POOL

According to the students, they learned a lot from all the artists working at Kobo. But after moving among them, each student selected one or two to stick with the rest of their days at the Trust.

Those who mentored specific students were David Thuku, Lemek Sompoika, Onesmus Okamai, Tim Ochola, and Paul Njihia (whose paintings are currently up at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI) in his own ‘Common Ground’ group exhibition together with Peterson Kamwathi, Elias Mung’ora, and Morris Foit since the previous weekend).

The mentors

And Peter Elungat who had previously been at Kobo but shifted to Kitengela where he has more space and fresh air had also mentored interns.

Elungat had moved out of Nairobi like so many local artists like James Muriuki, Chelenge van, Rampelberg, Justus Kyalo, Syowia Kyambi, Jimnah Kimani, and Nani Croze, the veteran glass artist who first went out there.

What was equally of interest to me was the fact that prior to the six finding their way to Kobo Trust, the university had no formal relationship with the Trust.

“It was us who found our way to Kobo after checking out several other art centres and feeling Kobo would be best suited to our needs since most of us are painters as are the artists here,” said Nadia Wanjiru, who had been mentored mainly by both Njihia and Onyis during her time at Kobo.

That independent spirit paid off well for the students who said they had learned so much about Nairobi’s vibrant art scene.

What’s more, like the ‘Wasanii wa Mtaani’ group exhibition at Alliance Francaise and the recent ‘Under 30’ showcase entitled ‘Unbounded’ at Village Market, all the interns at Kobo are in their 20s. For instance, Nadia is 21 while Christabel Juma is 23. So are Cheryl Awinner, and Robert Mugambi. Only Njeri Njoroge is 24, and Mbogo Weru, 25.

Mbogo Were, intern artist at Kobo Trust, on August 20, 2023, during the interns’ Occupy Studio Exhibition. PHOTO | POOL

It was Peterson Kamwathi who had observed, after walking through the Wasanii wa Mtaani exhibition, that we are currently witnessing the birth of the next generation of contemporary Kenyan artists. I felt the same way after seeing all the student interns’ art at Kobo Trust.

What is equally true about the artworks of this younger generation is the fascinating mix of subjects that interest them.

For a while one of them loved to paint snakes and another was a tattoo artist before he went to KU, several grew up influenced by elders who supported and encouraged them to pursue their dreams and follow their passions to wherever they led.

This is in sharp contrast to the perspective held by most parents just a few years ago when they couldn’t believe that a professional artist could earn a living, let alone a livelihood that was sufficient to raise a family.

One intern told us that he was washing his father’s paintbrushes before he was five.

“I had a passion for fine art flowing through my blood from an early age,” Robert Mugambi told us last Saturday.

Nadia Wanjiru, artist intern at Kobo Trust at the Occupy Studio Exhibition, on August 20, 2023. PHOTO | POOL

He had chosen to work closely with Lemek Sompoika as well as Paul Njihia. Meanwhile, Mbogo Weru grew up with his grandfather who had driven lorries for a living, but in his spare time, he painted and encouraged his grandson to do the same.

Mugambi also chose to split his time between two artists, David Thuku and Tim Ochola. So had Christabel Juma.

She came under the influence of both Onesmus Okamar and Peter Elungat, one of the first artists to find studio space at Kobo and still sees himself as an affiliate of the Trust.

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