Red Hill Art Gallery Gallery in Nairobi
Red Hill · Contemporary programme
Editorial Profile
Red Hill Art Gallery occupies a singular position within Nairobi's contemporary art scene, operating from a purpose-built space nestled in the green hills of the Red Hill area along Limuru Road, on the outskirts of the city. Founded on a sustained commitment to modern and contemporary African art, the gallery has assembled a substantial permanent collection over more than two decades — a carefully curated cross-section of paintings and sculptures drawn from across the continent, with a particular emphasis on East African practitioners. This collection serves as the backbone of an active exhibition programme that runs several individual shows per year, presenting both established artists with international profiles and emerging voices representing newer currents in African contemporary practice.
The gallery's curatorial orientation is rooted in a collector-driven model rather than a commercial primary-market logic, giving it a distinctive institutional character among the galleries in Nairobi. Its physical setting — light-filled exhibition rooms opening onto a landscaped garden with views of the Nairobi skyline — reinforces a programme that favors contemplative, object-based work in painting and sculpture over more ephemeral or time-based media. While the gallery does not appear to maintain a significant presence at international art fairs, its role within Kenya's art ecosystem is meaningful: it offers a consistent, accessible platform for regional talent at a moment when interest in East African contemporary art continues to grow both locally and within the broader global market for African art.
Selected Artists
Paul Onditi
Kenyan
Justus Kyalo
Kenyan
Peterson Kamwathi
Kenyan
Eltayeb Dawalbeit
Sudanese
Denis Muraguri
Kenyan
Selected Exhibitions
Echoes of Humanity – An East African Art Collection
Wanyu Brush, Rosemary Karuga, Zacharia Mbutha, Joel Oswaggo, Charles Sekano, Jak Katarikawe, Annabelle Wanjiku, Boniface Maina
Humanimals
Dar Al Naim
The Moon Man has Gone Under the Sea
Jessica Atieno
A Trajectory of Etchings – 1980s to 2000
Rashid Diab
Resurrection – Facial Fragments
Eltayeb Dawalbeit
Two Worlds Apart – From Sierra Leone to Japan
Gor Soudan
A Retrospective of Artworks from 1993 to 2013
Justus Kyalo
Explore Nairobi
A local guide to Nairobi, with links to its galleries, institutions, and wider Kenya art context.
