This catalogue showcases a multigenerational group of African artists varied in their backgrounds, thematic concerns, and formal strategies and offers a starting point for critical engagement with the history of painting in East Africa.

Mwili, Akili Na Roho: Ten Figurative Painters from East Africa features the work of ten artists from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, including Sam Ntiro, Elimo Njau, Asaph Ng’ethe Macua, Jak Katarikawe, Theresa Musoke, Sane Wadu, Peter Mulindwa, Chelenge van Rampelberg, John Njenga, and Meek Gichugu. The personal histories, thematic concerns, and formal strategies of this multigenerational group of artists present an opportunity to engage more deeply in the genealogies of artistic creation in the region, while considering the enduring influence of certain ideas and institutions in the creation, dissemination, and reception of art in and from East Africa.

This catalogue is published to coincide with an expanded version of Mwili, Akili Na Roho at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute in 2022, following earlier iterations at Haus Der Kunst in Munich (2020) and the Royal Academy of Arts in London (2021).

About NCAI 

Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI) is a nonprofit visual-arts space dedicated to the growth and preservation of contemporary art in East Africa. Established in 2020, NCAI builds on a rich legacy of art projects and institutions in the region, and seeks to tell the stories of the artists and projects that have come to shape the region’s contemporary art scene. Through exhibitions, the development of an East African art archive, an extensive public program of talks, and a multidisciplinary educational program, NCAI serves as an inspiring cultural space and a resource for the thriving East African arts community.