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Artists imagine a new utopia for Kenya’s capital
Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has long been known as “the green city in the sun” because of its mix of forest and grasslands among the urban sprawl, but it all depends on where you are viewing it from.
Seen from one of the city’s comfortable apartment blocks or homes, then yes, perhaps – from one of its densely packed slums, then no.
There, life can be characterised by poverty and ecological disaster, such as flooding and deadly landslides.
But an art collective – Kairos Futura – has been trying to take what might seem like some of the city’s more dystopian elements and create a vision of a utopia, or at least how that might be achieved.
Their exhibition Hakuna Utopia features the works of seven artists exploring themes of apocalypse and resilience – some in quite abstract ways – as they respond to the daily challenges endured by Nairobi’s six million residents.