Kuona at the Godown
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section2: Discovery
Kuona at the Godown
… access to private studios within a larger, vibrant arts space …
The turn of the millennium brought with it radical changes in the Kenyan art scene especially amongst what was termed the second generation of Kenyan artists. In 1999, the first artists from this group travelled abroad and these contributed a lot to what happened over the next decade.
Patrick Mukabi did the two-week Khoj Workshop in India in 1999, followed by Jimmy Ogonga’ s three-month residency at Fordsburg Artists’ Studios( The Bag Factory) in South Africa.
Before this, most artists were content with making“ safe art” for sale and the news brought back by the two about how seriously other countries took art was too much. Soon all artists wanted to go“ out there” and see for themselves.
The next couple of years, aided by the rapid growth of internet access, saw about 15 young artists travel to the developed world for different art opportunities. One common reaction upon their return was seeing the urgent need to professionalise their practice. There was a general consensus that setting up effective studios modelled around the Gasworks( London), the Bag Factory( South Africa) and Vermont Studios( USA) would help their growth spiral upwards.
After a series of meetings and as luck would have it, in Nairobi’ s industrial area, the Godown Arts Centre was born.
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