Artistes vow to pull down billboards with portraits of models not from their county

By DENNIS ONYANGO

Kisumu, Kenya: More than 300 artistes from Kisumu County have asked the area administration to put in place legislations aimed at protecting the local actors.

In a rare show of unity, the group demanded that local adverts should bear local artistes who the people can identify with.

 “We will bring down any advertisement poster or billboard of a figure that we do not identify with. Any one of us can carry fish in a billboard and not someone from Coast or Western Kenya like we are seeing in most parts of Kisumu,” said Steve Okwany, an official from the Amazon Theatrix Ensemble.

They lamented that their more established colleagues from Nairobi were being considered in major events and advertisements even after the advent of devolved units in the country.

 “It is selfish for these well- to-do artistes to encroach our space and steal our identity. It is time this region is represented by its own artistes,” added Okwany.

Mariline Atieno, a model, pointed out that the county government should come up with laws protecting them from exploitation.

 “We are being misused by civil society leaders and NGOs who only pay us lunch allowances,” she complained.

 The artistes are set to benefit from a Sh1 million project launched to empower them by Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura.

 Through his Foundation, Obura said he would purchase vital art facilities to improve talents.

Speaking during a meeting held at Kisumu’s Goan Centre, the legislator regretted that local artistes have remained invisible due to lack of support from other stakeholders.

“Kisumu is the powerhouse for various arts but lack of facilities has kept the talents down. Our artistes have indeed stolen glamour from Nairobi based artistes. They now run the art industry,” he said, adding:

“We, however, want to bring the talent home to demystify the notion that it is only in Nairobi that artistes grow,” he said

He asked the county government to take advantage of arts to create employment opportunities for the youth.

 He further promised to present a motion in Parliament seeking to have art centres constructed and equipped at county levels as taxable assets that the devolved units can be proud of. The event was attended by models, dancers, visual artistes, public speakers, acrobats and other specially talented youth.