Wam artlook

  Since Creative Spills took over poetry competition in Kenya, the competition has grown significantly and produced tens of slam Kings and queens. It has also introduced various activities in order to bolster poetry appreciation in the East African country.  The Kenya chapter of Poetry Slam is run by an organization called Creative Spills. Creative Spills was founded in 2010 and has since run the country’s premier poetry competition since 2013. Creative Spills has seen spoken world poetry develop in Kenya and become part of the country’s top annual entertainment event.  Ian Gwagi, Creative Spills Director. Photo courtesy of Slam Africa festival 2025/26 The history of modern performance poetry in Kenya traces its origin to pre-colonial Kenya. Back then poetry and song were merged into one and took a form of recitation, singing, incantation and lamentations among others. There is scanty of information about the pre-colonial Africa concerning entertainment, especially the ve...

  Gufydox gives men a voice to speak about their emotions besides addressing social injustices. Using poetry and song, Gufydox has shown that men also suffer and they should have room to express their most painful emotions and even cry. His pieces also touch on social injustices and bad governance. Kenyan poetry scene has grown from the written work pioneered by the likes of Prof. Henry Indangasi, Jonathan Kariara   Jared Angira and Anyang’ Nyong’o among others to performance. It is no longer a field filled with published anthologies but one brimming with CDs, DVDs and YouTube videos. This growth has seen the rise of significant voices who are shaping serious agenda. Among these voices is Gufydox.   Born and raised in Nakuru Kenya, Gufydox has grown to become a household name in Kenya’s entertainment industry. His name traverses poetry, photography and film production. In each of these fields, Gufydox is a name to behold. He is ready to leave a mark on the continent...

  Kenyan artist Evans Mbugua’s research is a journey into the past to unravel what ails us today and how the past can help solve today’s problems. The exhibition, ‘Untold Stories’ which closed in February at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi is both nostalgic and an eye opener to understanding the past in the present and the present in the past.   The world is ever changing and views we held in the past seem like distant memory. Since childhood, we are raised to be forward thinkers and so tend to form our own memories. This means, our own memories travel as far back from our childhood and not beyond. Kenyan artist, Evans Mbugua, sought to move beyond our childhood and look into his lineage. This research bore the just concluded exhibition, ‘ Untold Stories’ ( 21st January- 25th February, 2026) at Circle Art Agency’s Gallery in Nairobi.  For over a decade now, Evans Mbugua has been exploring questions around identity and memory through portraits of people drawn from his e...

‘ Heaven Can Wait Two’ exhibition speaks a lot about moral struggle between what is seen as good and bad in society. It speaks a lot about what civilization has done to individual mind and morality thus blurring the lines on what can be perceived as right or wrong especially in pursuit for survival in hard economic times. In this exhibition, Michael Soi does what he knows best, throwing the debate to a judgmental society while he sits back and sips his beer.  ‘ Seeing is believing ’ captures my eye as I slowly move down the Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi to enjoy the just concluded ‘Heaven Can Wait Two’ Exhibition (21st January-25th February, 2026.) In the painting, a lady in lingerie stands on her hands, legs spread before a lascivious audience. Though we only see her back, she seems unfettered by her skimpy dress code and the greedy eyes admiring her otherwise bodacious body. The audience, giddy and carried away by the amorous show have their necks craned to either left or right,...

  In what turned out to be a night of celebration, anger and bravado, the Slam Africa Poetry Festival would reveal that it had not lost its touch. Kenyan poet, Timelines (Dennis Mwangi) would be crowned the 67th slam king amid jubilant voices, quiet discontent and disbelief.  Slam winner Timelines, (centre) with other contestants, Nature Servant and Daisy Itago. (Photo courtesy of Creative spills) Slam Africa Poetry- the Kenyan chapter has always boasted for being a continental poetry affair. Since its inception, the poetry showcase has shown its inclusivity by bringing on board other nationalities to participate in Slam poetry competition in the Kenya’s capital Nairobi. This has seen poets from Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and even Cameroon and Nigeria display their mastery in performance art in Nairobi. The 2026 festival begun on 29th January and went through to February 1st at Alliance Francaise and Goethe Institut in Nairobi. The festival was packed with activities spread thr...

  The love story in the Chinese folklore of the celestial bodies Altair and Vega that bore Qixi and Tanabata Festival transcends that of Valentines. However, the Mystery of who St. Valentines is, and the exact origins of Valentines Day has made February 14 th , the lovers’ day. Between valentines-celebrating the martyr or whatever tradtions and the Qixi, celebrated in the seventh months, which qualifies to be the most appropriate lovers’ day?        Many couples and those in relationships are looking forward to the revelries that come in the middle of February this year. While some will some hundreds and thousands of dollars, others will choose to be modest with candle lit dinners at home, candy and flowers. Whichever way you choose to enjoy the mid-month festival, have you ever wondered why the festival comes in the month of February. Well, there is a number of myths that explain the festival that to some has a pagan origin and to others the Christ...