was all rather ad hoc. Young artists were encouraged by this contact with experienced workshop leaders to explore new directions in their work and to make more use of cheaply available materials. Painters experimented with printmaking and sculpture; instruction on how to stretch canvases or how to mount and frame work introduced useful new skills to complement their artistic work. Then at last, after much lobbying, in 1994 the NMK Director General gave us the room we needed in a pleasant old colonial-style house in the museum grounds. The place was simply refurbished with a small grant from a local motor company and an exhibition of women artists launched the new space. section3: Introduction Conceptual
At this point, it was clear that for this valuable new place to be run effectively, it had to have a separate identity from the GCEAA. Rob Burnet with his exceptional experience of arts administration and workshop organisation took on the job. Rob’ s energy and commitment was the key – he founded Kuona Trust with a handful of trustees including myself and the redoubtable Arvind Vohora who is now the sole survivor of that first group and who continues to be an essential player in Kuona’ s continuing development.
The Gallery of Contemporary East Africa Art is no more – the Nairobi Museum has been massively renovated and the gallery was a casualty of that remarkable reconstruction. Kuona Trust has also moved on as its brief in the training and development of local artists expanded, in particular offering affordable working studio space which would have been impossible in the old premises. Art still thrives at the museum in new spaces, however, and the grounds display numerous striking examples of East African sculpture, many of which were created by the artists of Kuona Trust.
Wendy Karmali vii