On Thursday, GTBank Kenya sponsored a contemporary African Art show in Nairobi that featured artwork from 12 local artists.

To give a boost to African art they recently launched Art 635 – which is an online website, created by Guaranty Trust Bank (to be filled) with amazing, diverse and important works which will exclude the filter of Eurocentrism, and still fulfill global standards with its quality. They are inviting more Kenyan artists to list on Art635 so their work can also be showcased globally. GTBank also sponsored the massive Fashion Weekend event in Nigeria last month. In addition, they have an SME market hub which they term as an eBay for Africa and support Ndani TV, an online African content TV platform.

GTBank Kenya Managing Director, Ms. Ibukun Odegbaike said, “GTBank has supported Art over the years, endeavoring to provide enabling platforms for African Art, not just to become more visible and appreciated but also be more commercially viable.”

The artists feted by GTBank were Patrick Kinuthia, Jjuuko Hoods (from Uganda), Joshua Mainga, Douglas Musyoki, Peter Elung’at, Haji Chilonga (from Tanzania), Yassir Ali (North Sudan), Emily Odongo, Michael Soi, Anne Mwiti, Michael Musyoka and Coster Ojwang. The works on display ranged in price from about Kshs 80,000  to Kshs 1.2 million.