Samuel Njuguna

His mother complains about Samuel and his brother. In her opinion they should choose a ’normal and decent’ way of living. Their father is more understanding. He himself was taught art at school and he knows that he might have been the one who inspired his sons by giving them a book about the Dutch painter Rubens.

Both Samuel who is 22 and his older brother, Will have chosen to become artists. The family has set up a small room for him that he can use as a studio. There is no electricity, so the working day ends when the sun goes down.

Samuel is still seeking personal expression as an artist. He uses all kind of materials and colour combinations and works with brushes, forks, knives, combs and many other things. His paintings are most often colourful and strong in their expression. Twice a month he volunteers in an American NGO working with street art for children in the slums of Nairobi. Together with other young artists he goes to the slum areas and teaches the children.

A major incident in the art career of Samuel was when Obama visited Kenya – the year before he was elected as a president. By then Samuel had been invited to exhibit some of his works together with other young artists at RAMOMA, the art museum of Nairobi.