MARIJE BALT: "Our programme is aimed at reinforcing Kenyan cultural identities and improving mutual understanding between different cultures. For example, the embassy has supported the Kuona Trust for three years, offering talented, underprivileged visual artists professional training and temporary studios. Another partner is the Sarakasi Trust which trains, coaches and promotes acrobats from the slums. They also have a fair trade music label, run the radio station Ghetto Radio and organize the North Sea Jazz Festival in Nairobi. We also support the Godown Centre, a building that accommodates all kinds of cultural organizations and a theatre. The Nairobi International Festival of the Arts was a major success. It was organized by the Kenya Performing Arts Group. Winners of the talent competitions in various slums found a stage and could develop themselves professionally. To me this was the most impressive event this year. It gave young people from deprived areas an opportunity to show their talent and to be proud of it.
Kenya has a rich tradition of dance and theatre with plenty of hip hop and reggae. The visual arts, however, are still very much in their infancy. There is no art academy and the elite goes abroad for art education. The cultural sector is only scantily supported by companies and sponsors.
We keep in contact with cultural organizations in Kenya, but not with the government. We do keep in regular contact with HIVOS, the Prince Claus Fund, the Ford Foundation and the cultural attachés of other embassies.
Kenyan artists regularly visit the Netherlands, for example to participate in the Festival Mundial and the North Sea Jazz Festival."
Culture Budget250.000 euro Since2002
Major projectsThe Kuona Trust | The Sarakasi Trust | The Nairobi International Arts Festival | The Godown centre
Nairobi International Arts Festival at artmatters.info
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