Kenyan Who’s Taking Artworks to Golf Clubs

If there is one thing Kenyan artists are incessantly looking for, it’s public spaces where they can display their artwork. And preferably the places are well-trafficked with folks who appreciate art and can buy.

Tom Siambey is one Kenyan who recognises that concern. Despite not being an artist himself, he started frequenting local galleries back in the 1990s after finishing secondary school.

“I used to visit places like Gallery Watatu, French Cultural Centre and Goethe Institute, and felt that one day, I’d like to be involved in the art scene myself,” he tells BDLife.

He realised that most art institutions in Kenya are run by expatriates. One thing that gave him encouragement to follow his dream was getting to know Adama Diawara, the widower of Ruth Schaffner, former owner of Gallery Watatu and former Cote d’Ivoire Consul-General for Kenya.

“It was through Adama that I met artists like Jak Katarikawe and many others,’’ he says.

Rental fees

Initially, he used his savings to book space at the Village Market in 2000.

“A friend, the late Joseph Opiyo, introduced me to Alice Miller who was in charge of exhibitions at Village Market,” Mr Siambey recalls.

“Sometimes Alice [the Ghanaian niece of former High Court Justice Miller] would let me have the exhibition hall for free.”

Mr Siambey says Alice was happy to help him because she said everyone else who booked space, apart from him, was an expatriate.

The first exhibition featured 30 artists. It turned out to be a great success. “We continued exhibiting at Village Market from 2000 to 2004,” he says.

After that, he spent two years working with the Ministry of Culture, helping them organise provincial art exhibitions. But then, those activities took a hiatus.

Mr Siambey got back into the business of organising exhibitions in sundry places, spaces that were not specifically focused on showing Kenyan art.

In 2006, he began curating shows everywhere from the Sarova Hotel and Ole Sereni to The Mall in Westlands and Kenya Wildlife Service.

It hasn’t been easy, especially as there’s the co-ordinating with the artists, collecting their work, hanging it well and keeping track of sales. It’s not as easy to find spaces.

For instance, Village Market’s rental fees have shot up. Nonetheless, he continues to search for innovative places where the public might enjoy seeing Kenyan contemporary art.

Currently, Mr Siambey has exhibitions running at three separate venues: one at Karen Country Club, another at Nairobi University’s Vet Lab and a third at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club.

Kenyan collectors

“Plus I’ve been offered space at the Sagana Getaway Resort which I’m trying out,” says Mr Siambey.

So far, he’s exhibiting works by Esther Kahuya, Ron Enoch Luke and Remy Musindi there.

At the Karen Club, he rotates artists’ paintings, prints and sculptures. He exhibits works by a wide range of artists, including Hannington Gwanzu and Evans Yegon, (both of whose art is also featured in the Central.

Bank of Kenya’s 2018 calendar) as well as Caroline Mbirua, Elly Omwaha, Peter Matheka, Drishti Vohra, Remy Musindi, Peter Maina, Teddy Odhiambo, Ruth Nyakundi, Coster Ojwang and Adam Magdi among others. What’s more, Mr Siambey says all the buyers are Kenyans, many of whom are serious art collectors.

“Even at Karen Club, all my clients are Africans,” he says.

Quite a few have asked that he no longer brings portraits or pictures of wildlife. “They want to see more original works. Our Kenyan collectors are quite discerning collectors,” he adds.