On a beautiful, bright and sunny Saturday in late February 2021, Nadia Wamunyu, a young, talented, female Kenyan visual artist opened the doors to her new gallery, N.W Gallery.
The quaint, charming gallery is located in South C, a little after the Big Knife eatery and is right after Soniri Hostel.
The gallery, with a lovey porch and outside sitting area, is two stories high and boasts both exhibition space, a boardroom and offices.
So naturally, when Nadia first sent over the invite for the launch of the gallery, my affirmative response was pretty much automatic for the following reasons; first, curiosity. I was very curious to see the space and to get to know more about it and her inspiration behind taking this huge step. My second reason was to acknowledge and appreciate a young artist making moves in her space. I imagine that it may not have been the easiest of journeys to set off on, but she stuck with it and committed to achieving a dream and herein was the reward of that pursuit. It was therefore, and still, is a cause for absolute celebration.
The launch was slated for 20th February 2021 and would begin at 2P.M and end at 6P.M.
Upon arrival, my plus one and I noticed that the space bustled with visitors walking about and interacting with the art hung up on the gallery’s walls; some of these visitors were artists, some art enthusiasts and some friends of the artist. A generally great energy transcended the atmosphere as visitors viewed the work, congratulated Nadia on the launch and chatted with each other as they nibbled on snacks.
NADIA WAMUNYU ON HER NEWLY LAUNCHED GALLERY.
Q. First off congratulations on this big step! What influenced your decision to open a gallery?
A. Thank you very much! I’m very humbled. I made the decision to open my gallery to show the works of young Kenyan artists who primarily focus on the Kenyan experience. I’m interested in exhibiting work inspired and influenced by black African culture with a focus on dynamic ideas about art and society.
Q. Is this something that you’ve always wanted to do?
A. Honestly, I’ve wanted to open my own gallery for the longest time; it’s been a dream I’ve had my whole life because I really enjoy making and showcasing art.
Q. That’s amazing. And now that you’ve opened the gallery, how does it feel to have made this move?
A. It’s very exciting! The idea actually became manifest when my family decided to open its own company last year. They offered me the space for an art gallery and I immediately jumped on it.
Q. As a young female Kenyan artist, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced as an artist?
A. Not being able to express myself like I’d want to.
Q. Do you think the gallery will help solve this?
A. Yes. Granted my gallery is still small, but through it I will l encourage artists to create art for themselves, not to conform to standards set by extrinsic parties. I create art for myself and over the years I’ve been fortune enough to meet people who loved my work so there’s something to be said about being true to who you are and expressing yourself how you know best to.
Q. Alright. What type of art would you wish to exhibit at the gallery?
A. The artwork we’ll showcase will be mostly visual art i.e., paintings of different media including watercolour, drawings, pastel pieces, prints, photographs and mixed-media created by you artists.
Q. And how then can these artists get in touch with you?
A. They can get in touch with me through my email They would have to be ready to send in their biographies and images of their works or art portfolio.
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If you didn’t pick up on this already, she’s big on young artists, so if you’re one, and you’re looking to exhibit your work, reach out to her and have that conversation.
About Nadia the Artist – Nadia is a well-establish contemporary visual artist based at Kobo Trust. Read more about her here https://nadiavisualartistcoke.wordpress.com/about/
You can email Nadia at nadiawamunyu@icloud.com.
