Kawira Mwirichia (died 2020) was a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

artist and curator from

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who lived in

Athi River Athi River is a town outside Nairobi, Kenya in Machakos County. The town is named after the Athi River, which passes through. It is also known as Mavoko. Athi River hosts the Mavoko Municipal Council and is the headquarters of Mavoko division, ...

. She was a

multi-disciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

artist known internationally for her kangas along with more traditional fine arts mediums such as painting, drawing, and sculpture.

Early life and education

Kawira Mwirichia was born in 1986. She lived in

, Kenya. She died and was laid to rest in November 2020. She received her Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

(Aug 2007 – Dec 2012). Through the Astraea Commslab, Mwirichia took a course for online LGBTQI activism. Her formal art training came from graphic & web design courses at the Institute of Advanced Technology as well as Nairobi Institute of Business Studies.

Career

To Revolutionary Type Love

Kawira Mwirichia aimed to create Kangas for all 196 countries of the world The design of each Kanga is inspired by that country's historical moments in their fight for LGBT rights. As of 2017, 37 of Africa's 57 countries criminalize homosexual acts. Kangas are traditional East African cotton textiles with Swahili sayings on them. One of the uses of Kangas is a part of marriage ceremony, where it is laid out on the ground to receive the bride and take her to the wedding, or receive and celebrate the wedded couple. "In Nairobi, Kenya, there are two different art scenes," artist and activist Kawira Mwirichia explained. "There is the so-called Masai market which draws on traditional crafts and tribal customs, and there is the contemporary art scene, of 'people who are experimenting with other ways of expression.' To Revolutionary Type Love, creates a dialogue between these two creative worlds, as she used traditional textiles to create contemporary Art. The exhibitions are presented with work from other artists.

Lez Ka-lour!: A Lesbian KamaSutra Colouring Book

A ten-page colouring book of Lesbian KamaSutra positions by Kawira Mwirichia.

Exhibitions

* To Revolutionary Type Love, Iwaleawahaus at Bayreuth University, 30 June – 30 September 2018 *To Revolutionary Type Love, University of Art HBK, Braunschweig, Germany, June 2018 * "27" hosted by the National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission Shifteye Studios, Nairobi, November 2017 * To Revolutionary Type Love, Goethe Institute, Nairobi, Kenya May 2017 *Jinsiangu's Bodies Unbound, British Institute in Eastern Africa, 2015 *Girl Art Project, GoDown Arts Center, Nairobi, 2011 *2010 See Us Hear Us Art Festival, Liberty Hall Pangani, Nairobi *2010 Changing Faces Changing Spaces Conference, Hilton Hotel, Nairobi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwirichia, Kawira Kenyan women artists Kenyan textile artists 1986 births 21st-century women artists Kenyan LGBT artists Queer artists 2020 deaths