"All cities are mad, but the madness is gallant". This quote by American writer Christoper Morley aptly epitomises the feeling that one gets walking through Nairobi and, in particular, a place like Kibera.
The debate about whether tours to informal settlements are slum voyeurism is never-ending, but a group of visual artists from Kibera has been changing the way the slum is seen and making hay while the sun shines.
While their main occupation is their art, creatives from the Sun Valley Art Collective have found a way of curating the art surrounding three main settlements in Kibera.
Hosted or booked on Air BnB with Saviour Juma as the main guide, the tour showcases murals found in Fort Jesus, Olympic and Jamhuri estates.
Set as a two- to three-hour activity, guests walk from one estate to another, get immersed in the murals and their meaning and also see the community as it is lived.
I joined a group of Kenyans, mostly newly graduated urban planners and photography enthusiasts, on our tour, so this was not meant to introduce us to Kibera the slum, but rather give us an idea of what the artistic space looks like.
This is not a new idea; there are guided art tours in places like Hillbrow and Soweto in South Africa, Rio in Brazil, Dharavi and New Delhi in India among other places, but for Kenya, this was the first time I heard about it.
I grew up in Olympic, Kibera, living in well-planned and spacious Council housing before it outgrew this model and gained popularity as a slum so I was curious as to how things had changed over the years.
The tour begins in Jamhuri estate where one quickly notes that there is a large Ethiopian population. A dead giveaway was the lovely cafe with its Sini coffee cups at the entrance inviting one for a taste of authentic coffee.
The Sun Valley artists have teamwork, and it is seen through taking turns at explaining the visual elements or when talking about the various initiatives they have collaborated on: Community, hip hop and popular culture artists and the remnants of Covid 19.
There’s art for art's sake but also messages of behaviour change passed through commissioned pieces which have stood the test of time.
For instance, the collaboration between the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage and Maasai Mbili collective on the Covid-19 mural next to the railway line.
The identification of which spaces are best to paint on, community engagement to ensure everyone is in agreement and the collaborations are discussed on this tour.
One name that keeps coming up is that of renowned graffiti artiste Bankslave who is quite an icon within the community. His graffiti is sprayed on many of the walls, especially in Fort Jesus.
One iconic mural is that of the legendary rapper E-Sir and at the opposite end is the image of South African rapper Kiernan J. Forbes.
None of us in the group could identify the latter artiste, sketched in his honour following his demise. The powerful mural a few houses away is a collaboration of eight main artists including Bankslave featuring the ‘voices’ of the children from Afrocure Dance Academy.
A communal effort, it speaks to supporting and uplifting each other despite the odds faced. One thing that stands out is the mentorship that’s passed down from the bigger artists to the upcoming ones.
More, they pull each other in, opening doors for collaborations where necessary ensuring everyone wins at the end. For instance, Saviour shared that he’s self-taught and has had no formal schooling in art apart from what he has learned and seen others do.
His own foray into art came from trying to process the 2007 post-election violence that heavily rocked Kibera, then only a schoolboy.
He would find himself drawing his feelings and trying to process what he had witnessed on paper inspired by the works of the late Ashif Malamba, late Omosh Kindeh and Kota Otieno, all artists from Kibera.
His mother encouraged him to pursue art, with no knowledge that it would lead him to a better path in life. He recognises that he began selling art early and this is how he sustains himself amid the tough economic times. Saviour tells me his art has already been exhibited abroad but his dream is to be out there with his work.
Saviour, like many artistes from the Sun Valley Collective, depends on his art as the main source of income. Kibera has also established itself as a silent gem of the arts.
The Kibera Arts District located in Olympic Estate, hosts the House Of Friends gallery, the glass artists who were mentored by Nani Croze next door, a footwear store and Saviour’s gallery among others at nearby range.
At the HOF gallery, ‘Years of Service’, a collaboration featuring recycled material is ongoing. The four artists exhibiting are Saviour, Bernard Musyoki, Njogu Kuria and John Ruitha with one main piece being Kuria’s mixed medium ‘Ingombe’ depicting bullfighting.
We asked about women in this space and were glad to hear there are a couple of them making up the collectives and their work is valued just as much as the gentlemen who took us around.
A tour worth taking, and worth noting here that the cost can be subsidised for locals on request, particularly if you are in groups.