This week, the House of Friends Gallery in Kibera Arts District hosts Ministry of Discovery, the latest and perhaps most profound exhibition by Kenyan artist Mika Obanda.
Curated by Jamey Ponte, it is a visual meditation on resilience, rebirth, and the often-misunderstood inner lives of artists.
The exhibition carries a backstory as powerful as the works themselves. Only a few months ago, Mika’s studio in Mukuru Kwa Reuben was gutted by fire, destroying a year’s worth of work.
Out of those ashes came clarity. Offered a residency at Kibera Arts District, he produced in just three weeks the 26 pieces now on display.
“For me, this is a spiritual showcase,” Mika says. “Artists go through themselves in ways that can make them shrink from expression. This exhibition embodies the spirit of our struggles, and our rebirth.”
Feasts for Artists, a chalk pastel on paper by Mika Obanda, on display at the House of Friends Gallery in Kibera on August 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
A tumultuous awakening
Mika’s path to art has been anything but linear. His turning point came in Form Three when he was expelled from school after being caught with bhang.
Forced to live with his sister, he went through what he describes as “a holistic, spiritual time,” embracing religion and rediscovering his craft.
Re-enrolled in a new school, he found art embedded in the curriculum. There, he encountered students creating mosaics from eggshells.
Fascinated, he began collecting shells from riverbanks — a practice that defined his early career. More recently, he has shifted towards charcoal drawings and soft pastels, though he resists being boxed into any one medium.
Support System, a chalk pastel on paper by Mika Obanda, on display at the House of Friends Gallery in Kibera on August 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“When I settle with one thing, I feel like I’m losing a part of myself. For me, expression matters more than medium.”
Art as ministry
Ministry of Discovery treats art as both gospel and prophecy. Mika envisions artists as sages and preachers, their lived struggles the substance of sermons.
Mentored by Adam Masava, he moves easily between weighty social themes — such as femicide and single motherhood — and deeply personal reflections on the hidden lives of artists.
His inspirations include his mother, who single-handedly raised him and his siblings after his father abandoned the family, as well as cultural icons like Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Jesus Christ, and Christina Shusho. What binds them together, he believes, is an uncompromising devotion to their callings.
“They discovered themselves as artists and never departed from that. They lived prophet’s lives, often at great personal cost. That is where I place Kenyan visual artists today.”
Shining a spotlight
For Mika, the exhibition is also a statement about the place of visual art in Kenya’s creative economy. Too often, he says, legislation and cultural recognition favour musicians and dancers, leaving visual artists overlooked.
Drawing While Thinking About Life, a chalk pastel on paper by Mika Obanda, on display at the House of Friends Gallery in Kibera on August 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“There is a lot of work that goes into creating a body of art, but for a long time, that effort has been underrated. I want to shift that spotlight back to visual artists.”
Rebirth through fire
What might have been an ending became a new beginning. The fire that destroyed Mika’s studio gave rise to Ministry of Discovery, a testament not only to personal resilience but also to the collective struggles and triumphs of artists who live on the margins of recognition.
In turning loss into creation, Mika has crafted an exhibition that is both intensely personal and universally resonant. It is, as he frames it, a ministry — a space where art itself preaches the gospel of survival, faith, and discovery.
