The Nairobi Art Buyers Weekend opens tomorrow at the Lavington Mall

Some of the paintings by various artists that will be exhibited at the Nairobi Art Buyers Weekend Exhibition. (PHOTO: FELIX KAVII)

About fifty paintings will be contributed by leading local artists from studios including; Dust Depo, Godown Art Centre and Karen Village among others. Artists including Patrick Mukabi, Anne Mwiti, Clavers Odhiambo and Sital Borkhtaria will feature their work.

The artist to watch will be Katanu Kay who is currently a student at Brookhouse School.

Katanu has featured strongly at the Dusit D2 art exhibitions over the last three months impressing with her oil and acrylic paintings.

Her depth and perspective is such that one to looks at the painting again and again.

This exhibition has been conceived by Joe Sanna, formerly the head of exhibitions and travel trade shows at the Kenya Tourism Board for just a little over twelve years.

His vast experience in managing the Kenya travel trade's participation at high profile international exhibitions in Europe, Americas and Asia equips him with the right pedigree to curate the new art exhibition. Joe also conceived the now popular annual Magical Kenya Travel Expo while employed at the Kenya Tourism Board.

"The purpose of this exhibition is essentially to provide a vibrant and sustainable platform to showcase the evidently burgeoning artistic talent in the country, creating jobs and incomes for artists and effectively expanding space for artists alongside other key players in this industry," he said.

Another key attraction will be Patrick Mukabi whose work depicts the ordinary women he see's out and about in the neighborhoods of Nairobi.

The women are always kanga-clad, beaming luxuriously, and he finds them 'more interesting'.

He says, "Women are the fabric of African society. If a woman is poor, the next generation is also poor: how well women are doing is a barometer of the health of the society."

Mukabi is credited with founding the Dust Depo art studio at the Railways Museum and has been a mentor to many artists in the country.

Some of his paintings are featured at the Java restaurants and at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.