The Kobo Trust Foundation

lunes, 13 de octubre de 2014

Untold Stories


The title came up when artist and children were working together. It was hard for them to find a name that could describe all the paintings. They observed and realized that the one thing they all had in common was a collection of life experiences and moments that brought them together to that place.
All of us have stories that maybe nobody knows, the artist and children consider that their paintings are the definition of this, of all the untold stories they have and how does they reflect all of them in each of their paintings, because this art is a reflection of the past, present and future of each of our artist and children, all of the experiences and moments they passed through their lives.

The are many stories from the children and artist that we might never get to know, but all of those stories are the reason of why they are the way the are right now, and through the painting we might get little inside on the untold stories of their lives.

The artist collaborating with the "Untold Stories" art exhibition and art project

ONYIS MARTIN



Onyis Martin was born in 1987 in Kisumu, Kenya, when he was only 6 months old his family decided to move to Nairobi, born in a big family with 6 sisters and 1 brother, Onyis started to notice that he had a great talent as an artist, since he was only 5 years old.
He didn’t went to nursery so he entertained himself painting, and he used to paint almost everywhere, his passion in art started to grow, and when he was 18 years old he decided to engage definitely with this profession.
Onyis is always looking forward to help in different communities of Kenya, he gives some art classes in different slums, and he really enjoys working with kids because as he said, “I like them to be happy I like when they smile”.
Through his paintings, Onyis leads us into his own cultural world, a world in which the sacred and the profane constantly mingle, in which worship and domestic life are one and the same, in which every gesture has a pre-established purpose and in which everything has a meaning. Within that culture, everything is determined in advance; everything that occurs in the present can be explained in terms of the past and has to be ritualized so as to be integrated into everyday life, which is itself a ritual. As we walk into his paintings, we have to look deep into our own souls for it awakens sensations and feelings, which we, caught up as we are in an inhuman, and artificial world, thought were lost for ever.
He is also a NLP practioner, Systematic work therapist and Thai Yoga masseuse.
Using mixed media including paper collage and cloth, today, his subject matter consists of aspects of everyday life, a lot of which includes figurative paintings of the Kenyan disposition. As Martin explores different styles, we are privy to some harmonious and some disordered works… all part of the growing pains of becoming an artist.



Dickson Kaloki
Kaloki was born in 1985 in Kitui District , Eastern Kenya. At an early age he interest in art began to grow, thanks to the encouragement from his mother. She taught him how to draw with love and passion in his work. His early drawings were of anything he came across and he drew almost everywhere, he always got himself into trouble. Kaloki received his primary education and attended secondary school. He attended college to study Interior Design however he was unable to complete it because it was too much financial pressure on his parents. He joined Kuona Trust Art Centre in 2005 and started learning from other artist through workshop and public projects.
Dickson Kaloki is a self-taught artist whose work is calm and intense all at the same time with his use of materials and techniques. His motivation comes from memories, dreams and his creative processes. He gets inspiration from the slums, town buildings, fashion design and people’s way of life.
He captures the mood of the slums by telling a story through his paintings. Layers of charcoal and touches of scratches enables him to be even more connected to his work. He gives each painting all his attention and presence.
You may ask why paint the slums. Kaloki believes it holds the unseen beauty. People negatively misinterpret the slums but in reality it is filled with community, life and love among people living together despite the hard living conditions. Every time he goes there he reminisces about his child hood, Good and bad memories, each day was a different experience, where he found freedom within himself to became an innovative and exciting artist.

Kaloki has manage to do exhibition both locally and internationally . in Germany ( colon and berlin) , Spain , Denmark  and London .

domingo, 24 de agosto de 2014

Promoting and collaborating with Kenyan artists



Hadzabe of Mang'ola Association—Mang’ola, Tanzania

The Hadzabe are the tribe with the oldest DNA in the planet. Until the year 96 they had never met any humans outside their ethnic group, and they had maintained the same lifestyle since the Later Stone Age. Now, with just 700 left in the planet, this tribe is in danger of disappearing. This is an extremely big project of which the objective is to develop a sustainable way in which they can preserve their lifestyle and culture while living in peace with those around them. The Kobo Trust has created this association, uniting the 12 families left, which now owns a 10 acre plot of land. We have also provided them with an open account at a nearby hospital and a delivery of basic food every 3 months to complement their hunter-gatherer diet.

Los Hadzabe son la tribu con el ADN mas antiguo del planeta. Hasta el año ‘96 no habian conocido a otros humanos fuera de su etnia y mantenian el mismo modo de vida desde la Edad de Piedra. Ahora, con solo 700 en el planeta, se encuentran en peligro de desaparecer. Este es un proyecto muy ambicioso cuyo objetivo es desarrollar un metodo sostenible en el que puedan mantener su estilo de vida y vivir en paz con quienes les rodean. The Kobo Trust ha creado esta asociacion con ellos para la que se han conseguido unas tierras. Tambien se les ha proporcionado con una cuenta abierta en un hospital cercano y un reparto de comida cada 3 meses para complementar su dieta de cazadores-recolectores. 



Philisa Abafazi Bethu—Cape Town, South Africa

Philisa Abafazi Bethu is a womens centre in Lavender Hill, one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Cape Town. Its objective is to educate women and young girls in how to identify and react towards abuse and to provide them with a safehouse when they are in a situation of risk. Transport is an essential factor for these emergency situations as well as for picking and dropping off the women and girls for their different programs and workshop. Because of this, The Kobo Trust has provided them with a minivan and collaborates also with isolated needs when these appear. 

Philisa Abafazi Bethu es un centro de mujeres que se encuentra en el barrio mas peligroso de Ciudad del Cabo. Su objetivo es educar a mujeres y niñas en como identificar y reaccionar al abuso, y proporcionarles con un sitio seguro a donde ir si se encuentran en situacion de riesgo. The Kobo Trust ha donado a este proyecto una furgoneta, ya que el transporte es esencia en estas situaciones de emergencia y para poder recoger a las chicas que asisten a los programas y talleres diarios que ofrecen. Colalaboramos tambien con necesidades puntuales.



Anidan—Lamu, Kenya

The organisation Anidan consists of a children's home and a hospital in Lamu island. They provide more than 200 children with a home, food, heathcare and an education. The Kobo Trust sponsors the full education, since kindergarden up to the end of high school, of 45 of the children of Anidan. 

La organizacion de Anidan esta compuesta por una casa de acogida y un hospital en la isla de Lamu. Proporcionan con un hogar, alimentacion, sanidad y educacion a mas de 200 niños. The Kobo Trust patrocina la educacion completa, desde la guarderia hasta el final del bachiller a 45 niños.



Jenracy Center—Sinai Slum, Nairobi, Kenya

Jenracy Center and School where we sponsor the education of 70 diferent children in primary and 7 teenagers in secondary.

We also coordinate for them different workshops it courses, art workshops, private tuitions for the once who are weaker and language courses.

This children´s Home is based in Sinai Slum.