Two years ago, Marius Frank Ajuma's biggest dream was to stage a solo exhibition. As a young artist, he woke up and slept to art, but his craft lacked focus. Then a chance meeting with a curator at Karen Country Club, impressed by the emotional power of his lake-themed work, gave him the direction he needed.
This week his dream came true. Janam, his first solo exhibition at the Kenya National Museum in Nairobi is a collection that explores the vibrancy and complexity of life around Lake Victoria, a place he calls home.
“I grew up in Kisumu, and our family house sits right on the beach,” he says.
“The lake has always been part of my identity. I started sketching, taking photos, talking to fishermen... immersing myself in the stories that flow from those shores.”
“Janam, which means people of the lake, is more than a geographic tribute. It is a layered exploration of memory, culture, and resilience. Marius’s paintings are rendered in warm, vibrant colours that reflect both his joyful artistic temperament and the sun-baked glow of lakeside life.
“Ludhe Beach,” an acrylic on canvas by Marius Frank Ajuma, on display at the Janam exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi on August 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“The lake is the lifeblood of the region,” he explains. “It shapes how people think and live. It demands courage, and that shows in the personalities you meet.”
Through conversations with fishermen and return visits to Uyoma Beach, Marius began to reflect on deeper questions about identity.
“Fishing is risky. The lake gives, but it also takes. You hear of people going out at night and not coming back. Sometimes the lake is strangely turbulent at dawn, and it’s said to happen when someone has drowned. Once the body is found, it calms again. These are stories I heard growing up, and they linger.”
This emotional charge pulses through his paintings. In one work, fishermen haul a nearly empty net illuminated by their lantern. The disappointment on their faces is unmistakable. In another, young fishermen are pushing their boat into the lake, hoping for a god catch. His subjects radiate dignity, pride, and presence.
But rather than idealising life by the lake, he celebrates its texture and truth. “I like to capture the positive in everyday people—there’s so much richness there.”
Marius Frank Ajuma during Janam exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi on August 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Before this moment, Marius’s path to becoming a full-time artist was far from straightforward.
He first encountered art as a child, drawing illustrations for his mother who was a primary school teaching. Later, while waiting to join college, he discovered Mwangaza Art School in Kisumu, a community art studio founded by a Dutch priest.
There, he trained in classical painting and clay modelling, often doing live portraits and landscapes.
His journey was briefly interrupted when he moved to Nairobi to pursue a degree in microprocessor technology at the University of Nairobi—a compromise to satisfy his parents’ wishes for a conventional career.
“I was passionate about maths and science, but art always called me back,” he says.
After a stint in music with the now-defunct “Halisi the Band,” he returned to visual art and joined the Railway Museum’s creative hub under renowned Kenyan artist Patrick Mukabi.
“Mukabi gave artists a space to work rent-free. It was a huge opportunity. I learned to work with different styles and respond to client needs, but my heart was always in painting what felt personal.”
“In-pursuit,” an acrylic on canvas by Marius Frank Ajuma, on display at the Janam exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi on August 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
That personal vision finds full expression in Janam. Every brushstroke is rooted in lived experience, layered with memory and emotion.
His art is largely inspired by the old masters, whom he acknowledges heavily by reading about. Rembrandt, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vincent Van Gogh, were some of the painters who posthumously became his teachers.
“When I learned impressionist art, Van Gogh was loud in my head, his technique for painting patterns while incorporating textures is something I have even tried to emulate in some of my paintings in Janam. His choice of freedom with colours and the nice craze with his works is something I deeply admire.”
Claude Monet is also another painter who is a core inspiration to Marius.
“I feel like our journeys are similar,” he says. “Monet was such a good realist, but over time, he started to break away and morph into creating works that were considered openly rebellious. He is one of my heroes.”
Marius has seen the value of his art grow over time. His sister bought his first paintings for Sh2,000, now his pieces cost as much as s Sh190,000.
Now that he has achieved his dream, what's next. More solo exhibitions at international levels, he says.
Asked what’s next, he smiles. “This is just the beginning. I want to keep telling stories that matter to me—stories that carry the scent of lake water and the voices of people who live by it.”
