JAK AND FLORENCE KATARIKAWE

Kushinda! is absolutely thrilled to be the only UK representative for Jak and Florence Katarikawe. Jak may be regarded as the elder statesman of contemporary East African art, having established his reputation in the 1970s and 80s when his beautiful and evocative paintings, reflecting his life in Uganda and his self-imposed exile to Kenya in protest at the policies of Idi Amin, earned him the respect of the art world worldwide. These days he rarely leaves his Nairobi apartment where we met him and Florence in September 09, we are very proud to have established a relationship with them, as with all our artists, based on friendship, mutual trust, and a passion for the arts. Jak's work, which is becoming increasingly rare, regularly commands 4 and 5-figure prices. Florence is discovering and nurturing her own artistic talents, kushinda! is the first to offer her work to view and to buy outside of Africa.

MOUD KASIRIVU

Moud, at just 22 years of age, has made remarkable progress as an artist and entrepreneur. Having been brought up in an orphanage in rural Uganda he now owns Kasirivu Art Studio, in the capital Kampala, where he and a team of young apprentices produce striking and highly original woodblock prints. He has exhibited his paintings in the United States and Germany, and is scheduled to attend kushinda!'s GLOW! live arts event in North Wales in December 2009.

WILLIS OTIENO

Willis is a member of Tong N'yang Artists and works vonluntarily with children and young people in Kisumu, Kenya. Talented and innovative, he depicts scenes of African wildlife and culture using recycled eggshells to create truly unique and original works of art. Willis is a contributor to kushinda!'s online arts journal k!, where you can see more of his work and read why he believes so strongly in the power of art to change lives.

SSALI YUSUF

Ssali is a remarkably talented and successful young man who paints in a wide variety of styles at his studio in Kampala. He has an international client base and is known for his glorious use of colour.

JOE NJAMBURI

Joe's love for art is so strong that he gave up his career as a librarian to become a professional artist, despite having a young family and no formal art training - that is a big risk to take anywhere, but especially in Africa where all but the most successful artists have low social standing and no entitlement to financial support . When we met him in Nanyuki, in sight of Mount Kenya, he impressed us so much with his natural talent and desire to progress that we just had to bring one of his paintings home with us. We thought you too would like to hear his story and the inspiration behind his painting 'Masaai Culture', so we are publishing it in the next posting of our online journal k! which you can view for free at http://kushinda.blogspot.com