Your destination for contemporary African art.
Our story
Founded in 1992 by Rahab and Shine Tani, Banana Hill Art Gallery is a contemporary African art gallery located in Banana Hill, just west of the Nairobi city centre. Since its inception, it has played a pivotal role in building the Contemporary art scene in Kenya by representing a core group of emerging and established artists from East Africa and the continent in general.
Due to limited support for the art industry in Kenya, artists often have to fend for themselves through other means. Shine and Rahab opened their doors and provided food, accommodation and tools to a few helping them to kickstart their careers. The number of artist joining the couple in the art business grew steadily, and it made sense to formalize the business into an official artists’ Studio. In 1994, Banana Hill Art Studio was born, with an initial membership of twelve artists. By 2005, this number grew to over 38, some of who had already made a name for themselves internationally. In 2006, Shine Tani became the legal owner of what is now known as Banana Hill Art Gallery. Since then, the Gallery has opened its doors to East African artists and their art. This has immensely grown the popularity of the Gallery among artists’ circles in the region, and soon other East African artists found their way to the Gallery. In 2011 we widened our geographical scope by organising an exhibition by Kofi Agoso from Ghana, West Africa. Banana Hill Art Gallery now represents over 90 artists from all corners of the continent.
Location
Our Gallery is located in Banana Hill, a few miles North of the popular Village Market in Nairobi, Kenya. It is worth visiting for all lovers of contemporary African art. The art we exhibit is full of life, artists express themselves in many ways through their work, and we always encourage this expressionism in all their pieces. Subjects vary from daily life in urban and rural settings, abstract art and art set in traditional African setting and various colours & patterns. We only select quality art by creative, established as well as upcoming artists. Our Gallery showcases drawings, paintings as well as sculptures. We always aim to provide fair prices for both our clients and our artists because bringing clients and artists together is the foundation of our success.This approach has created a culture whereby artists are genuinely appreciated for their artistic endeavours. We have made their success our success and opening up to the incredible pool of talent in Africa remains the core of our mission.
Core
Understanding African art is a process. One has to be exposed to it, become acquainted with its unique qualities, then focus on which of these qualities are suited to one’s taste. This can take time but we guarantee you that it will be quality time! Relax, look around, enjoy its fantasy, get as much input as you can and when you are ready to absorb the creative energy that you will experience in our Gallery, Shine, Rahab and the team will be happy to assist you further. We can ship your purchases to anywhere in the world with a service provider of your choice. Contact us for more information.
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Drawings
Paintings
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Sculptures
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