Kenya’s fine art sector continues to grow, attracting fresh talent and new audience’s artists have urged the government to input more effort to nurture and the expanding creative economy.
According to Musa Omusi a fine art artist and one of the exhibitors at the Urithi Exhibition under UK/Kenya programme of activities in 2025 that celebrating creativity and innovation across the arts, culture and heritage, and education, the most urgent support artists need is simple: affordable workspaces and access to materials.
“There is a lot of support that the government needs to give to fine art creators, but the easiest one is creation of more spaces where we can create our work at a subsidized rate, or finance us to get the materials required to create. It pays a lot and the scene is growing with a lot more creators coming in place. It is a matter of time also, and we need to educate ourselves more about art,” Musa said.
This year, Musa’s art revolved around the theme of inheritance; the threads that connect generations and shape identity.
In his last exhibition of the year, hosted at Heltz Residency, it features pieces developed across the year under this theme together with more created to showcase what Ngara has. For the first time, he collaborated with fellow artists who had long hoped to join his project.
“They came to a show I was exhibiting in September and requested me to bring it to their residency—and that’s how we are here,” he said.
Together with photographers, furniture makers, studios, and an accessories designer, the group built a body of work that documents both personal and communal heritage.
One of the photographers chose to highlight the unique architectural and cultural character of Nairobi’s CBD and Ngara, capturing scenes that inspired much of the showcased work. The artist himself drew deep inspiration from Ngara’s everyday rhythm—its furniture shops spilling onto the streets, its diverse retail culture, its raised buildings, and the informal traders who thrive without offices or formal structures.
“From the art that I have made for this exhibition, I painted things that reflect Ngara; the businesses and the hustles that go on around there,” he said.
His artistic journey began in childhood, inspired by an uncle who used to paint fruits. But the deepest influence came from his mother.
“The key inspiration is my mum, yes. Then it went to what the retail spaces in Ngara are, and what kind of retail we see there.”
Showing at Heltz Residency carries emotional meaning for him. The space is close to where his late mother used to buy fabric for her business, often bringing him along. One of the exhibits a fabric display pays tribute to these memories.
“I am happy to showcase at this residency because it is near where my mum used to come buy fabric for her business,” he said, gesturing toward the installation. “I am trying to find ways to document Nairobi through art.”
His work is part of a larger long-term vision. He has already created studies of Nairobi’s city centre, including his first major work inspired by Jevanjee Gardens. He hopes that over the next decade, he will build a visual map of Nairobi, chronicling the city’s shifting identity through illustration, painting, and collaborative exhibitions.
“This is a thread in continuation. My hope for the next ten years is that I can create a map populated about Nairobi,” he explained.
Through Urithi Exhibition, he and his collaborators invite the public to reflect on the spaces, memories, and everyday people who shape Kenya’s urban cultural heritage—past, present, and future.
In collaboration with partners in Kenya and the UK, the British council has this year presented a programme of activities in 2025 that celebrates creativity and innovation across the arts, culture and heritage, and education.
With a thematic focus on innovation, the UK/Kenya Season 2025 opened up new opportunities for connection, exchange, and collaboration.
Running from May to November 2025 in Kenya and the UK, and the Season featured public events spanning architecture, design, fashion, literature, music, visual arts, performing arts, and film.
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