Kiboko Kamau

Kiboko Kamau is a creative and curator born in Nairobi and educated in the UK. In 2004, he received the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design from the University of the Creative Arts (Epsom), and in 2009, he earned a bachelor’s degree in illustration arts at the University of the Arts London (Camberwell). Kiboko creates large-scale, figurative, mixed-media works called Kata Kata. Through Kata Kata, he explores themes related to identity, origin, cultural narratives, and ownership. Kiboko is the founder of Ifreecans Collective, co-founder of Studio Ifreecans, and co-founder of Studio Nooma – creative platforms that explore multidisciplinary, cross-cultural collaborative projects. In 2010, he participated in an art residency in Marrakesh, Morocco, and presented his Kata Kata installation during Nairobi Design Week 2023. His works have been exhibited in several institutions, including the Saatchi Gallery, Harrow Arts Centre, Remp-Art Gallery, the Rag Factory, Candid Arts Galleries, the Original Gallery, Little Antiques Fair, the Society of Black Lawyers, Artists Open Studios in Laguna Beach, and Arte De Los Muertos in San Francisco. Kiboko currently lives and works in Nairobi and Paris.

 

 

My present working system is called Kata Kata. It explores the concept of cultural ownership and intersects with the participation of local and international audiences. Kata Kata (which means ‘to cut’ in Kiswahili) involves the creation of a large-scale work that is then cut into a certain number of pieces. The finished pieces are then offered for auction online. Participants are asked to decide what value they place on the works and to define what ownership means to them. Kata Kata is an idea that explores and demystifies ART OWNERSHIP.

WORKSHOP:

As part of the Krakow Photomonth, I will be running the KATA KATA KA-LLABO workshop.

KATA KATA KA-LLABO is an exercise in collaboration through a workshop where I draw on a large-scale canvas cut it into a certain number of pieces that are painted by participants. The work is signed by all of us. KA-LLABO is Kiswahili Sheng (slang) for collaboration (collabo).