City fete: Artists can dare dream

Nairobi Governor Johnston Sakaja. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Indeed, the market for creativity has been the preserve of a tiny minority of financial elites.

The locations of few galleries that showcase local art in the city are for the most part situated in the heart of suburbia, where foreign dignitaries, diplomats, and the elite live.

Many people from outside these circles may rightly be put off by these locations, uninterested in the classism that characterises most of the engagement with art.

The same can be said with music, and the expectation is that musicians will be compensated and facilitated by Sakaja and his team to showcase their talents at an affordable rate to all who wish to listen.

Like art in Nairobi, engaging with live music can also be an expensive affair. Understandably, fans of local artistes may not be obliged to pay the often-hefty ticket prices or break the bank to have a meal at an expensive restaurant just to hear a band play or a musician perform.

But art is not for the few, but for the many, and hopefully, this festival would be a step in demystifying art as an activity only for intellectuals and the rich.

Hopefully, this festival will showcase that art and music are products worth paying for and that artistes and musicians deserve to be paid and recognised for their creative work.

Part of what prompted Sakaja to announce the festival was the need to facilitate and encourage business and entrepreneurship.

There have been cases of photographers and other creatives who have been seriously hampered in their activities by harassment meted out by council workers on them over the legality of videography and photography within the city.

Aerial view of Nairobi, September 2022. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

"When we say we want to be pro-business it is not just passive to stop harassment of traders; we want to be proactive to facilitate and promote. There are many archaic laws including those that hamper creativity and innovation, and we are going to weed those out," he said.

The Nairobi Festival would also bring Nairobi and the country at large much-needed revenue.

Millions of tourists flock to Kenya every year to enjoy her natural beauty. The festival would not only boost the economy, but it would also market Kenya as the creative and vibrant country that it is.

Indeed, Unesco reports that "the creative economy is one of the world's most rapidly growing sectors, contributing 3 per cent of the global GDP."

With the amount of creative talent at hand, this is an opportunity to celebrate Nairobi's unique artistry.

As a creative, I look forward to the possibilities presented by such an event and hope artistes working in different mediums are allowed to showcase their talents.