Proceeds from Uhuru Park arts festival to help the poor
Nairobi Governor Jonson Sakaja and his deputy James Muchiri at Uhuru Park on December 12, 2022.
Several businesses in Nairobi will benefit from the first-ever Nairobi Festival, a five-day event offering a platform to players in the creative economy.
At least 16 locally-produced films and documentaries are set to showcase during the event to be held at the refurbished Uhuru Park.
The festival seeks to celebrate arts, culture and sports by giving stakeholders in the technology and arts sectors the chance to showcase their crafts to hundreds of attendees.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the inaugural festival will provide an opportunity for Kenyans to appreciate the city's diverse food, culture and art with individuals and businesses displaying their works to those in attendance during the event.
The festival brings together food, the arts, matatu art awards, as well as exhibitions on designated city streets.
He said the festival, which kicked off yesterday and will run up to December 16, 2022, will be held every December to display and celebrate the “vibe of the city”.
Governor Sakaja said the festival offers a perfect platform for artists, content creators and businesses in the capital city.
At least 50 artists and 40 DJs will perform at the event, which will mostly feature upcoming and established artists.
Further, the event is expected to be attended by hundreds of city residents who will part with Sh1000 as an entry fee with the proceeds going towards supporting the vulnerable in society.
“The creative economy has the potential of being a major employer for the youth. If you look at Nigeria alone, Nollywood is the second biggest employer after agriculture. We have that in us. Our young people have the talent with Nairobi being the Silicon Savannah of Africa,” said Governor Sakaja.
“The Nairobi Festival is celebrating the culture, and the vibe of Nairobi, our art, our food, our musicians, our acrobats, even our athletes, and our sports people.”
The City Hall boss added that there will also be sporting activities around the festival week to nurture sports talent and enable aspiring professional sportspersons to interact with mentors in the industry.
“There will be many events that will be leading up to the Nairobi Festival every year. In December, we will set aside some streets to display culture, food, and creativity. There will be awards for the best-done matatus as well as rugby, football and basketball tournaments and many other activities,” he said.
