Out of Town: Kilifi New Year Festival ft. 62 Local and International Acts, Dec. 30 2018 – Jan. 2 2019 @ Beneath the Baobabs – Kilifi


Dates: December 30, 2018 – January 2, 2019
Venue: Beneath the Baobabs – Kilifi
Tickets: Final Advance Tickets at KSh 8,000 for the entire 4-day duration. Tickets at the gate will cost KSh 9,000

Advance tickets available, here

About
Located in Kenya on the East coast of Africa, Kilifi is where we chose to call home. This was not only because of its stunning natural beauty, but because of the future that we envisioned for it. In 2014, the founders decided to host a gathering that would act as a melting pot of global cultures and a haven for freedom of expression. It was going to be a place where they could fiercely advocate what they themselves believed in: conscious living and sustainability.

Our festival – with secret nooks, majestic spaces and art dotted all across the site – is intended to encourage renewal. It culminates with the burning of a large wooden sculpture, symbolising new beginnings and a shared optimism for a brighter future, bringing together the community of Kilifi and all festival goers for a moving spectacle.

The Music
This year’s festival will offer three stages with over 40 artists from different genres: House and Techno Music, Dub Reggae and Bass Music with both Kenyan and international acts

Here’s a sample of all the DJ lineup in store for 2019. First Wave Lineup:

Nickodemus (US), Gato Preto (D/AO/GH), Yaadcore (JM), Cian Finn (IRE), DJ invIZable (SA), Yeti (SA), Jinku (K), Kerby (K), Seth Schwarz (D), Pete on the Corner (UK), Makadem (K), Marcus WI (K), Tash LC (UK), Enchan (K), Chucky (K), Belville (D), Dreadsteppa (K), Umojah Sound System (K), Commoner (UK), Sadhu Sensi (SA), Abaki Simba (K), Brian Kadawa (K), Shishi (K) et al.

Mind, Body, Soul
We are excited to announce a newly created area dedicated to feeding the senses and educating the mind; away from the exciting and intense music and energy of the dance floors beneath the baobabs.

Here, we will hold workshops, talks and have different therapies and therapists on hand to enhance the festivals values of holistic living and conscious education. Our attendees feed both mind & body with yoga and other activities which all have an emphasis on improving quality of life.

Our Ethos
We stand for diversity in race, religion, sex, origin and humanity. The basic principle behind this is that the more diverse we are the richer we are! We judge people by who they are inside, not by the colour of their skin, sex, sexual orientation or anything else skin deep.

We want to act as a platform for growing the wellness and alternative education movement in Kenya. For it to be a bigger part of lives of everyone who comes through our gates.

Kilifi New Year commits to protect and conserve the local environment and as act as an example and inspiration to live consciously on the planet. We focus on ecological awareness, e.g. gardening/ cultivation of land, water harvesting and conservation education.

Creativity: The dream is to showcase and develop talents and potential in music and art from all over Kenya.

The Magic Maker. We want Kilifi New Year acts as a beacon to attract international and homegrown creativity & talent in order to bring in the skills and knowledge which will to amplify all of the above goals.

The Venue: Beneath the Baobabs
This is the unique jungle site populated by ancient trees is set beside the stunning Takaungu Creek on the Indian Ocean. It is surrounded by pristine lush plateau, and is home to secret wild orange and lemon orchards, bamboo forests and thousand year-old baobabs that make for a magical setting for any experience.

Over the next 12 months is hosting two main public festivals, Kilifi New Year Beneath the Baobabs, and Kilifi Roots Festival – Beneath the Baobabs.

Safaricom Jazz Festival: Celebrating 5 Years with BWB (Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun), the Betty Bears et al, Feb. 25 2018 @ Kasarani Stadium


Date: February 25, 2018
Venue: Training Grounds, Kasarani Stadium
Time: from 10 am (Gates Open), and Performances – 12 noon
Tickets: Adults KES 2,000/-, and Students (with ID) KES 500/-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jib1w_bzAM

Performances by: BWB (Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun) – USA, Joja Wendt – Germany, Gloria Bosman – South Africa, Lean – Belgium, the Betty Bears – Israel, Holly Madge & Emma-Jean Thackray – UK, Mambo Tribe – Kenya, Limericks – Kenya, Jimek – Poland, along with Ghetto Classics & Safaricom Youth Orchestra.

david-sanborn-safaricom-jazz-2017

Safaricom Jazz Festival: David Sanborn – USA & TaxiWars – Belgium, Feb. 26 2017 @ Training Grounds – Kasarani Stadium

david-sanborn-safaricom-jazz-2017
Date: February 26, 2017
Venue: Training Grounds – Kasarani Stadium
Time: Gates open at 10 am and show starts at 12 noon
Tickets: Regular KES 2,000/- and Students KES 500/-

Performances by: David Sanborn – USA, TaxiWars – Belgium, The Hazelnuts – Israel, Ray Lema & Saka Saka – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Bokani Dyer – South Africa, Arun Ghosh – UK, Shamsi Music – Kenya, Mwai and the Truth – Kenya, and the Nairobi Horns Project – Kenya

All proceeds from the ticket sales will go to funding Ghetto Classics

mary-ogembo-at-nmk

Exhibition: Paint & Metal by Mary Ogembo & Dickens Otieno, Dec. 10 2016 – Jan. 14 2017 @ Creativity Gallery – National Museum

mary-ogembo-at-nmk
Dates: December 10, 2016 to January 14, 2017
Venue: Creativity Gallery, National Museum
Time: Open Daily; 8.30 am – 5.30 pm
Museum Rates Apply

About
Mary Ogembo’s paintings are rich with vibrant Earth colors that bring about the state of the African environment. She is inspired by the African woman and applies unconventional, engaging and fun concepts that overlook the negative stereotype placed on the African woman.

Ogembo is a kenyan born artist who has been working as a full time artist since 1998. She is currently based at the GoDown Arts centre in Nairobi. 2005, she won commonwealth arts and craft award, worked in Ghana as a resident artist for a period of six months at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Her work has been widely recognized by local media in Kenya and other countries including, South African broadcasting cooperation, Featuring Africa Within, CNN Inside Africa 2011 and others.

Collected by: The National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe, The Standard Chartered bank UK and Casoria museum in Italy have collected her work.

Exhibitions: Kenya, France, USA, Egypt, Canada, Finland, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, India, Germany, Lithuania and Abu Dhabi.
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Dickens George Otieno’s (B.1979) practice is driven by the search to find meaning and worth in things that seem otherwise useless. Otieno weaves large sculptural fabrics and makes cloth sculpture from discarded drink cans which he collects from local kiosks near his home and studio. He compares the shredded cans to palm leaves which have been used traditionally for weaving through many generations and civilizations.

Clothing is important because apart from covering the body, it is also a statement about the person through the different designs of color, material and even the patterns printed on them which reflects the time and the world today.

Works at: The GoDown Art Centre in Nairobi, Kenya

Selected Exhibitions: Amsterdam art fair(2016), UN.FORM/MULTI.FORM(2016), Kenya Art FAIR (2016), Circle Modern and Contemporary East African Art Auction(2015), solo exhibitions at Nafasi Art Centre-Dar es Saalam(2015), Emerson Hurumizi Zanzibar(2015) and Manjano(2011)
His work is represented in various private collections

Kenya Mambo Poa

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival showcasing Kenya’s Folk Life, Jun. 25-29 & Jul. 2-9 2014 in Washington DC

Kenya Mambo Poa
Theme: Kenya Mambo Poa

Dates: June 25-29 & July 2-9 2014
Location: Washington DC

A wide array of indigenous Kenyan cultural practices will be on display accompanied by exhibition curated by Kenyan artists from all walks of life.

Layout/Map
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For more info visit http://www.festival.si.edu/2014/Kenya/

Also check out the festival’s Facebook Page

A partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and the Government of Kenya Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.

Party with the Stars

Party with the Stars! at Storymoja HayFestival Launch Party, Sept. 19 2013 @ National Museum

Party with the Stars
Date: September 19, 2013
Venue: National Museum of Kenya
Time: 7 pm
Tickets: Kshs 5000 [includes season pass] Call: 0724 913 364

June Gachui brings you the acclaimed Motown in Nairobi with Denise Gordon [USA] and Different Faces Band

All that Jazz at Storymoja…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZXnfGCs61E]

Jazz Under The Stars Aug 2013 Flyer Final

Jazz Under the Stars ft. Phil Denny, Aug. 31 2013 @ Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club

Jazz Under The Stars Aug 2013 Flyer Final
Date: Saturday, August 31st 2013
Venue: Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club
Time: 6 – 11pm
Tickets: Ksh 3,000 | VIP Ksh 5,000 (Includes a welcome Chivas cocktail)
Contacts: 0723 815 913 or 0726 677 715

This year’s line-up includes: Phil Denny – USA (Main Feature), Aaron Rimbui and the Quartet – Kenya, Brian Mugenyi – Uganda and The National Youth Orchestra – Kenya

MC: June Gachui

This year’s CSR initiative is the National Youth Orchestra.

Phil in a past Concert!
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp8fnX9pdRA]

Donations will be accepted during the event to support this organization that aims to change youth’s lives through music. There will also be great raffle prizes to be won in support of the National Youth Orchestra.

For Colored Girls

For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, Aug. 16 2013 @ MJCentre

For Colored Girls
For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf – a choreopoem by Ntozake Shange produced by the art canvas

The production is moving to the Michael Joseph Centre on the 16th of August after a successful run at the Phoenix Theatre. Tickets go for Ksh 1000 only and can be gotten from VIVO, at the Junction (Ground Floor, near The Art Caffe) Bookstop, at Yaya Centre (Second Floor) or via M-PESA 0707 305365. Get your ticket today

Date: August 16, 2013 [One Night Only] Venue: Michael Joseph Centre, Safaricom house
Time: 7 pm
Tickets: Kshs 1000
Contacts/Reservations: 0708 287 106/ 0707 305 365

Reviews

Young, gifted, black and female. – Review in The EastAfrican by Anne Manyara

Flash Light Stills

Exhibition: Uirapuru by Iván Navarro & Courtney Smith, Jul. 12-26 2013 @ Goethe-Institut

Flash Light Stills
Flash Light Stills
Exhibition Opening Friday 12th July 2013, 7.00 pm
Venue: Goethe-Institut Auditorium

Exhibition Dates: July 15–26, 2013 [Monday-Friday] Venue: Goethe-Institut Auditorium
Entry: Free

The well-known Chilenian artist Iván Navarro and his wife, the French born artist Courtney Smith exhibit for the first time in Nairobi.

Though both artists work primarily in sculpture they also use video as a way of tracing the trajectories that are implied in the objects that they create. Uirapuru presents a series of short videos on a continuous loop that represent their collaborative work.

About
For the exhibition Uirapuru Iván Navarro and Courtney Smith will be presenting a series of short videos on a continuous loop. Both artists work primarily in sculpture but also use video as a way of tracing the trajectories that are implied in the objects that they create. Though the two artists work mainly independently, they periodically come together. Their collaborations are ongoing, ranging from pointed interventions in each other’s work to explicit hybrids, with their two languages intertwined and their two bodies of work physically imposed on one another.
For Uirapuru they will present five short videos that refer to the trajectories and circuits of anonymous characters moving through urban space.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqdIOc_-uSo]

Courtney Smith is known for her furniture-based sculpture and her investigation into the physical and psychological construction of interior spaces through the deconstruction of the elements that inhabit them.

Iván Navarro is widely recognized for his innovative work addressing the complex implications of transformation and transference of electrical energy through his ingeniously crafted luminous sculpture. Both artists are based in Brooklyn.

Six Degrees Evite for June 8 at 4pm

International Exhibition: Six Degrees of Separate Nations, Jun. 8-Sept. 8 2013 @ The Frost Art Museum – Miami, Florida – USA

Six Degrees Evite for June 8 at 4pm
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU introduces two new exhibitions, both of which feature art as a tool to establish identity: How we see ourselves and how we perceive others, now and in the past.
The two exhibitions, Six Degrees of Separate Nations: Ebony G. Patterson and Peterson Kamwathi, Borders of Paradise: In the Eyes of Explorers, will have an opening reception on Saturday, June 8, 2013, at the Frost Art Museum, from 6pm-8pm.

The wine and hors d’oeuvres reception is open to the public and free of charge.

Opening: June 8, 2013
Venue: The Frost Art Museum
Time: 4 pm – Six Degrees of Separate Nations Panel Discussion
6 pm: Opening reception

Entry: free