Legendary East African artist Elimo Njau to be feted

Paa Ya Paa will this Saturday host an event dubbed Honouring Elders in the Arts in celebration of its director, Elimo Njau. It will be a double celebration as he will also be celebrating his 84th birthday. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Elimo is the artist behind the famous Murang'a Murals, which he was commissioned to paint 1956, at the height of Kenya's Mau Mau war of independence.
  • The mural was of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, in a church being built as a memorial to Christians who had died in the conflict. 

Paa Ya Paa will this Saturday host an event dubbed Honouring Elders in the Arts in celebration of its director, Elimo Njau. It will be a double celebration as he will also be celebrating his 84th birthday.

The event, which begins at 2pm, is the brainchild of artist and writer Professor Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui. According to her, the main reason she organised and sponsored the event was that she felt everything is tilted towards the young these days in Kenya and that we needed to remember the pioneers.

"We have taken Elimo for granted all these years. We pass by here for exhibitions, come for events but hardly ever stop to celebrate him. On Saturday, we will not only be celebrating his birthday but also Elimo the pioneering artist in Kenya, trained in the 1940s at Makerere University," says Professor Elizabeth.

A booklet by Harold Miller titled The Murang'a Muralswill also be launched.

Elimo is the artist behind the famous Murang'a Murals, which he was commissioned to paint 1956, at the height of Kenya's Mau Mau war of independence. The mural was of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, in a church built as a memorial to Christians who had died in the conflict. 

Interestingly, Elimo only signed his name on the murals 51 years later in 2005 as he had been fearful before of putting his signature as it was during that time that the Mau Mau were being hunted down and he feared he could be victimised.

Advocate, poet and founding member of Paa Ya Paa Pheroze Nowrjee will be the guest of honour.