Street Art On The Run

TIME: Saturday, 13 October, 16 – 20

VENUE: Gotham Gallery, Ravnsborg Tværgade 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N.

In the wake of the violence of Kenya’s 2007 election crisis, a fresh wave of street art hit the walls of Kibera – the largest slum quarter in all of Africa, located on the outskirts of Nairobi.

TIME: Saturday, 13 October, 16 – 20

VENUE: Gotham Gallery, Ravnsborg Tværgade 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N.

In the wake of the violence of Kenya’s 2007 election crisis, a fresh wave of street art hit the walls of Kibera – the largest slum quarter in all of Africa, located on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Now in 2012, 3 of Kibera’s finest ‘ghetto art’ and graffiti practitioners – Ashif Malamba, Otieno Gomba, and BankSlave – have brought their brushes and cans, canvases and stories to Gotham Gallery in Nørrebro.

In collaboration with Copenhagen street artists Rasmus Nielsen and Juse One and photographer Torben Nissen, Street Art On The Run will be a multifaceted absolute must-see exhibition.

“It’s an explosion,” says Ashif, one of two ‘ghetto artists’ representing the Maasai Mbili collective visiting from Kibera. “It is a unity of a kind, not of any kind. We have a fusion of artists plus photographers from different parts of the world… the combination of all the above should be a perfect example that (street)art has no discrimination – colour, class or creed, with no greed.”

Along with fellow Maasai Mbili artist Otieno Gomba, a recent speaker at TEDxKibera, Ashif has prepared a generous collection of all new works for Street Art On The Run. In the creation of their ‘ghetto art’ pieces for the show, both Gomba and Ashif utilize found objects and recycled materials in their compositions.

Joining Ashif and Gomba is Kenyan graffiti sensation BankSlave. Featured in the award winning French street art web documentary Défense D’Afficher, BankSlave has garnered international recognition in recent years as a world class graffiti artist. His thoughtful communicative approach to street art has been a beacon for peace and hope amidst Kenya’s recent political tensions and violence.

The Kenyan artists have been invited by the Center for Kultur og Udvikling to lead a series of street art
workshops as part of the World Images In Motion youth program. Ashif, Gomba and BankSlave have joined forces with Copenhagen stencil artist Rasmus Nielsen, New York born graffiti painter Brandon ‘Juse One’ Lewis and world travelling photographer Torben Nissen, co-founder of the free trade African art gallery PostArt.

The Copenhagen artists travelled to Kenya in April of this year, sent by CKU to recruit street artists living and working in the slums of Kibera. Their nearly year-long collaboration with the Kenyan artists will culminate with the Street Art On The Run exhibtion at Gotham Gallery.

Street Art On The Run Opening Reception: Gotham Gallery will hold an opening reception for Street Art On The Run on Saturday. Drinks and refreshments will be provided free of charge.

Websites:
Gotham Gallery: http://gothamgallerycph.com
Street Art On The Run: http://streetartontherun.org/
Center for Kultur og Udvikling: http://www.cku.dk/undervisning/street-art-workshop-2/
Post Art: http://postart.dk/
Torben Nissen’s Photography on Global Views: http://www.globalviews.dk/

Contact for Gotham Gallery owner and artist Juse One, aka Brandon Lewis:
http://juseone.com // [email protected] // +45 3074 4165