Wanja Kimani

Associate Curator, Black Atlantic

Wanja Kimani is the Associate Curator for the Black Atlantic Exhibition, having previously been Research Associate on the ‘Art and Work in East Africa: New Engagements in Art Curating’ project at Newcastle University. Co-founder of Guzo Art Projects, Wanja has worked on international exhibitions with numerous artists based in East Africa including Ephrem Solomon, Osborne Macharia and Robel Temesgen. In 2021, she was commissioned by the Women’s Art Collection, University of Cambridge, to respond to their exhibition, Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame. She created a film and publication, Tongues, which explored fairy tales, language and black girlhood. In 2022, she was one of the artists representing Kenya at the 59th Venice Biennale. Her research interests lie in the intersection of art, evolutionary ecology and the politics of gender and sexuality. She has published articles on contemporary art in East Africa and is currently a PhD candidate in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London.

Publications

Kimani, W., Karuti, J. and Cvejić, B., 2022. Jackie Karuti: Notes Movement Method. Milano: Mousse Publishing.

Kimani, W., 2021.'It's not you, its' me': Creative Video Reflections on the Black Female Body. MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture (8).

Kimani, W. (2021). Tongues. Published by Black Fox.

Kimani, W. (2015). The Image of Ethiopia: From Campaign Imagery to Contemporary Art. In Images of Africa. Edited by Dr Julia Gallagher.

Kimani, W. (2010). Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya. Human Rights, Social Justice, and the Impact of Race. 3 (2), 251-263.