Venue: the Polka Dot Gallery
Time: 12 – 5 pm
Until June 3, 2018
About
Maasai Mbili was founded by Otieno Gomba and Otieno Kota in 2001 in Nairobi Kenya. The two sign-writers wore traditional Maasai shukas as they went about their work, hence the origin oftheir name.Gomba and Kota started out together conveniently to cover the sign writing work that cover an expansive settlement. In 2004 they first showed their artwork in a restaurant which drew the attention of contemporary critics and theorists, within that year up to six other creative joined Maasai Mbili. This necessitated their move to acquire space in a pub and convert it to a studio.
The artists moved from producing functional advertisements for the slum to creating works on wood and canvas. Now a registered cultural centre, Maasai Mbili is better known as M2. A large portion of their artwork is political, critiquing local government through humour and satire. M2 have exhibited extensively in Kenya, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and the USA.
Maasai Mbili has through the years developed sustainability through the introduction of a 20 percent group commission on individually sold work. This has enabled the group to by their studio plot, also giving funds to supply with material for members, for outreach projects and workshops.
