This residency explores how internal visions become tangible art. Over two weeks, four female artists engaged in workshops and discussions, experimenting with materials and visiting cultural spaces.
The program focused on the creative process and how personal perspectives shape collective artistic experiences.
Art is a dialogue between intention and expression, giving form to unseen ideas. This residency offers artists an opportunity to refine their voice in a male-dominated industry.
By sharing their perspectives, they contribute to broader conversations on identity, emotion, and the role of art in shaping perceptions.
Mugoiri Gachiani is a Nairobi-based visual artist at Wajukuu Arts, working primarily with painting and collage. Her art reflects life’s unfolding moments, capturing solitude, emotion, and self-discovery. Through layered materials and expressive compositions, she explores personal and collective experiences. Gachiani participated in Wajukuu Arts' 2024 group exhibition, Before Our Homes Go Down, continuing her artistic journey of introspection and storytelling.
Edel Akotchi is a self-taught Kenyan visual artist and legal counsel who transitioned from law to painting, following a lifelong passion. Her work is driven by intuition, humor, and surreal imagery, blending reality and imagination through oil on canvas. Embracing imperfection, she allows subconscious visions to unfold naturally, creating playful and thought-provoking compositions that invite open interpretation.
Here’s a shorter version of the artist's bio in one paragraph: "I am an emerging artist exploring human experiences through mixed media, drawing from Wajukuu workshops and self-guided study. Art allows me to express emotions, reflect on life, and engage audiences. I have exhibited at documenta 15 (2022) and Wajukuu’s 'Before Our Homes Go Down' (2024). My work captures joy, sorrow, and identity, inviting viewers into a dialogue on shared emotions. Committed to growth, I continuously experiment with new materials and concepts to deepen artistic connections."
Valerie Solomon is a visual artist whose journey began with acrylic painting in school and deepened at the Nairobi Art Centre. Her work explores human emotion and introspection, using mixed media to navigate suppressed feelings and unspoken truths. Through her art, she challenges societal pressures, embracing vulnerability as a path to self-discovery. Her canvases serve as portals into the complexities of the human spirit, blending the tangible and intangible to create deeply expressive narratives
Experience our curated collection of contemporary artworks exploring the theme of mental imagery and imagination. Each piece invites you to reflect on how we construct visual narratives in our minds.
The image In Our Heads Exhibition has been curated by Ndung'u Kimani.
Edel Akotchi
Oil on Canvas
138x101.5 cm
Not For Sale
Mugoiri Gachiani
Acrylic on canvas
79x62 cm
$450
Freshia Njeri
Acrylic on canvas
70x83 cm
$550
Freshia Njeri
Acrylic on canvas
108x74 cm
$650
Mugoiri Gachiani
Acrylic on canvas
42x56 cm
$300
Valerie Solomon
Acrylic on canvas
84x94 cm
$540
Mugoiri Gachiani
Acrylic on canvas
65x80 cm
$450
Freshia Njeri
Acrylic on canvas
82x71 cm
$550
Valerie Solomon
Acrylic on canvas
84x95 cm
$620
edel Akotchi
Oil on canvas
99x99 cm
$850
Freshia Njeri
Acrylic on canvas
73x109 cm
$650
edel Akotchi
Oil on canvas
73x109 cm
$695
Mugoiri Gachiani
Acrylic on canvas
41x55 cm
$450
Valerie Solomon
Acrylic on canvas
85x117 cm
$620
Mugoiri Gachiani
Acrylic on canvas
65x80 cm
$450
Valerie Solomon
Acrylic on canvas
30x89 cm
$270
Freshia Njeri
Acrylic on canvas
79x82 cm
$550
Valerie Solomon
Acrylic on canvas
80x100 cm
$465
