Kenya: Lamu’s Utamaduni Centre inaugurated

The project was initiated by the Creative Arts Spaces in Kenya (CASiK) through the French government’s Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects (FSPI), which supports civil society, the Francophonie and human development.

The new centre, equipped with state-of-the-art sound and light equipment, means that the residents of the remote archipelago have a place where they can develop and nurture their artistic talents. CASiK has donated equipment worth €16 000 towards the 200-seater capacity hall that was officially inaugurated on 7 July.

Launched in 2021, CASiK is supporting five different arts and cultural spaces across Kenya in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa and Lamu counties. The project is implemented jointly by the French embassy and Alliance Française in Kenya.

CASiK aims to create a network of accredited and functional performance venues in Kenya that will support artists’ hubs and communities by upgrading equipment and infrastructure, building technical capacities and developing cultural programmes.

To date, the project has trained 16 technicians in security and safety precautions for live performing spaces and 13 cultural managers in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa, Lamu and Kakamega.

The training also equips those involved in the development of performing arts programmes and management of artistic and cultural projects with the necessary skills to effectively grow and manage sustainable arts and cultural venues to benefit the larger artist communities and the local societies.

More than 180 artists have also benefited from branding and marketing courses under the banner ‘Learn to Brand, Brand to Earn’.

In September and October, CASiK will hold sound and light techniques workshops conducted by trainers from L'Institut Supérieur des Techniques du Spectacle in France. This will be followed by music production workshops for DJs later in the year in collaboration with Santuri.