Eastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

Eastern African Museum of Art – Nairobi [EAMAN] is conceived as the first world-class museum of Eastern African art in Eastern Africa, telling the story of Eastern African art over time in a way that is worthy of the genius and artistic achievement of the peoples of the region and its diasporas.

THE MISSION:

of EAMAN is to collect, preserve, research, and display the wealth, genius, and diversity
of Eastern African art for the peoples of Eastern Africa and the world.

THE VISION:

EAMAN will be a world class cultural institution dedicated to the collection, preservation study, and display of the most outstanding manifestations of Eastern African art. Through unparalleled curatorial and scholarly work, EAMAN will strive to be a global leader in nurturing and promoting the understanding of and appreciation for Eastern African art. Collections and exhibitions of EAMAN will be made widely accessible to the citizens of Eastern Africa as well as to visitors, students, and scholars from every part of the world.

EAMAN will be built at the cusp of the Rift Valley. The Rift Valley meanders from Djibouti to Mozambique, uniting and dividing the countries and peoples of Eastern Africa. The beauty, the vastness as well as the challenges of living at the cusp of the Rift will be EAMAN’s breathtaking reality.

We find it appropriate, therefore that our inaugural project is dedicated to the connections of the peoples of the Rift with its dynamically changing environment. "Listening to the Rift Valley" celebrates the unique union of art, science, and nature nurturing creativity of the peoples of Eastern Africa over time and in the present.

Trees are important intermediaries in the interactions of the peoples of Eastern Africa with their surroundings. Adapting to the climate of the region over the millennia, they have been providing humans with shelter, livelihood, knowledge, and inspiration. Spiritual connection with trees and its artistic representation has been an important part of the cultural code of the peoples of the Rift Valley and the Swahili Coast, the two main geographies of Eastern Africa.

In this project, we are bringing trees into the artistic domain by combining scientific and artistic approaches and perspectives. We use sophisticated scientific equipment, the expertise of Kenyan botanists and paleontologists, the cultural vernacular of the Swahili coast, and the polluted realities of urban downtowns to strive to better understand and re-imagine the relationship between art, nature, and science. We respectfully re-examine traditional relationships between art and nature in Eastern Africa.

With this project, we signal EAMAN's commitment to chartering new paths to explore Eastern African art over time.