Wanja Kimani

Associate Curator, Rise Up: Resistance, Revolution, Abolition

Wanja Kimani is a visual artist, writer, and curator. She is the co-curator of Rise Up: Resistance, Revolution, Abolition (21 February–1 June 2025) and co-editor of the accompanying exhibition catalogue, published by PWP. Her essay in the catalogue, I will think of a title after I write, reflects on her experience working within the context of Rise Up and her role as Exhibition Project Curator for Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance (8 September 2023–7 January 2024). The essay envisions a path for cultural institutions to embed equity and care, honouring black cultural workers as they navigate the complexities of institutional histories.

Wanja has collaborated on numerous international exhibitions with artists, primarily from East Africa, showcasing work in diverse spaces—from artist-run collectives to galleries and major art fairs. These include Laboratoire Agit’Art (Dakar, Senegal), Circle Art Gallery (Nairobi, Kenya) and Art Dubai (Dubai).

Her visual practice explores the evolving relationship between the body and the land, reflecting themes of connection and disconnection over time. Working with natural dyes and found materials, she embraces experimentation and playfulness in her process. In 2021, she was commissioned by the Women’s Art Collection at the University of Cambridge to respond to Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame, creating the film and publication Tongues, which delves into fairy tales, language, and black girlhood. In 2022, she was one of the artists representing Kenya at the 59th Venice Biennale.

An alumna of Independent Curators International (Addis Ababa, 2014), Wanja was also part of the Emerging Curators Group 2024 (British Art Network and Tate). She has published essays on contemporary art and artists in East Africa and was awarded a Literature Matters Award from the Royal Society of Literature in 2023. She is currently pursuing a practice-led PhD in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London.

Publications

Kimani, W., Karuti, J. and Cvejić, B., 2022. Jackie Karuti: Notes Movement Method. Milano: Mousse Publishing.

Kimani, W., 2021.'It's not you, its' me': Creative Video Reflections on the Black Female Body. MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture (8).

Kimani, W. (2021). Tongues. Published by Black Fox.

Kimani, W. (2015). The Image of Ethiopia: From Campaign Imagery to Contemporary Art. In Images of Africa. Edited by Dr Julia Gallagher.

Kimani, W. (2010). Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya. Human Rights, Social Justice, and the Impact of Race. 3 (2), 251-263.