Arts & culture
Arts & culture in Nairobi and East Africa
Exhibitions, festivals, music, theatre and talks, checked by our culture desk, with dates, venues, prices and where to get tickets.
On now
Exhibition
The Great Repair
A travelling exhibition on repair, reworked with Nairobi platform munyu as 'The Great Repair: umunyu', with a public programme of talks, workshops and screenings.
Exhibition
Fragments of Memory: photographs from the Mo Amin collection
Archive photographs from the Mo Amin collection, co-curated by Michael Kainga and Joel Lukhovi.
Exhibition
The Singer & the Red Rose — Muyaka Shitanda
More than 20 new works in painting, photography and sculpture by Muyaka Shitanda, curated by The Station.
Exhibition
Free
Sanaa Gateja: They Too Are the Earth
New work by veteran Ugandan artist Sanaa Gateja in paper beads, bark cloth, banana fibre and found roots.
Exhibition
Not All Who Wander Are Lost — Gavin Kendo
A solo exhibition by Gavin Kendo in the Creativity Gallery at the Nairobi National Museum.
Exhibition
Free
Spectrum Art Exhibition
A group show of six Ethiopian artists at Laphto Contemporary Art Gallery in Addis Ababa.
October 2026
Exhibition
Free
Art Auction East Africa — Preview Exhibition & Party
Preview exhibition of all 67 lots ahead of the Strauss & Co-run Art Auction East Africa on October 28.
Film
NBO Film Festival 2026
Eleven days of African and diaspora cinema across four Nairobi venues, with an Alain Gomis retrospective.
Film
AAIFF Africa 2026 (All African Independent Film Festival)
Three days of independent African films, awards and filmmaker conversations in Kigali.
Film
Ben'Imana at NBO Film Festival
Rwanda's Cannes Caméra d'Or winner, the country's first Oscar entry, screens at Prestige Cinemas during the NBO Film Festival.
Festival
Kisima Festival 2026: The Love Edition
Four-day wellbeing, music and culture gathering at Beneath the Baobabs, Kilifi.
Exhibition
21st Affordable Art Show
Kenya Museum Society's annual juried show: 750+ works by 400+ artists; a share of every sale supports its projects at the National Museums of Kenya.
Film
Moonlight Movie Night: Avatar: Fire and Ash
Outdoor big-screen screening of Avatar: Fire and Ash at Mundi Center's Piazza on 16 and 17 October.
Music
Free
Usiku wa Hip-Hop (1st edition)
Free afternoon-to-night celebration of Tanzanian hip-hop with rap cyphers, dance battles, DJ sets and a live act.
Music
Mutoriah and The Orchestra 2026
Mutoriah performs his music with a full orchestra and guest artists.
Film
Call Me Queen: Kenyan premiere
Red-carpet premiere of the Kenya-shot drama Call Me Queen at the NBO Film Festival, with a cast and crew Q&A.
Other
Urban Kids
A Sunday afternoon of juggling, circus tricks, face painting and games for children at The Piazza, Mundi Center, Kigali.
Details come from the organisers' own pages and can change; please check with the organiser before you go. Tell us about an event →