Kenya: art as a tool for change: Wajukuu Arts in Nairobi's Mukuru

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Published Nov 7, 2025

In the heart of one of Nairobi's most impoverished neighborhoods, where corrugated iron roofs stretch across the Mukuru slum, a quiet revolution is unfolding. The Wajukuu Arts collective, founded two decades ago by teenagers seeking refuge from gang violence, is using creativity to transform lives and offer alternatives to crime for a new generation.

Established in 2003 during a period of escalating gang violence and police brutality, Wajukuu (meaning "grandchildren") began as a survival initiative by more than 40 teenage boys.

"Our community has many stories of women abandoned by their husbands, struggling to make ends meet," says co-founder Lazarus Tumbuti, whose art reflects these daily realities.

The collective served as a vital refuge where young men could cultivate ambition and support one another.

Today, only four of the original founders remain—some have left, while others have fallen victim to police violence—but their vision continues through eight dedicated artists.

Art as healing and social commentary