Kibera: Expressions of Life in Contemporary Art of Kenya Facilitated by The Uweza Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya. Uweza represents a significant endeavor in nurturing artistic talent within underserved communities. Particularly the youth from the Kibera neighborhood, Nairobi's largest informal settlement. They provide space, instruction, and time for aspiring artists who lack access to formal educational resources. The Uweza Foundation plays a crucial role in empowering individuals to express themselves through the medium of art. This initiative not only fosters creativity but also serves as a platform for the participants to explore and share their unique perspectives on life, culture, and society. Through painting and other forms of artistic expression, participants are able to convey the complexities of their lived experiences, offering insights into the challenges, joys, and aspirations of Kibera residents. Additionally, by showcasing contemporary Kenyan art, this initiative contributes to a broader cultural dialogue, highlighting the diversity and vibrancy of artistic talent within the country. Moreover, by providing opportunities for skill development and artistic growth, The Uweza Foundation enables participants to potentially pursue careers in the arts, thereby offering a pathway towards economic empowerment and social mobility. Overall, "Kibera: Expressions of Life in Contemporary Art of Kenya" serves as a testament to the transformative power of art in uplifting communities, fostering self-expression, and promoting social inclusion and cultural exchange. Artists 1/2

Watch the first episode of our new series: ROAM with Xtina Parks! ROAM is a lifestyle brand of fine artwork, photography, Fair-Trade, furniture and design built upon the ethos of conservation, support, and preservation of African Culture and Wildlife Habitats. Nestled within the lush green mountains of Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the iconic Northern Berkshires, ROAM's flagship location proudly presents a meticulously curated African Fair-Trade gallery. Delve into our exceptional African fine art and photography collections, and immerse yourself in the enchantment of our global cross-cultural activations. Step into a world where art, culture, and ethical craftsmanship converge. New Book Available Now BUY NOW ABOUT US ROAM is an African Contemporary Art Gallery spe cializing in works of art, sculpture, photography, furniture, jewelry with an in-house interior design team. Xtina Studios teams work together to accomplish our shared vision: to bring awareness of sustainable conservation initiatives which directly support Africa’s artists and people, as well as preserve and protect the African lands that are home to endangered species. By showcasing African art and artists and through our media efforts we endeavor to protect habitats and wildlife through storytelling, and by supporting African culture and art. Xtina Parks is an African wildlife and landscape photographer, filmmaker, conservationist, researcher, gallery founder who’s works focus on the African natural world. Her work in Africa began in 2011 as a photographer and has grown to encompass all aspects of conservation and the telling of stories that support both the people and the animals of the continent. Xtina strives to reach across cultures and focuses her research efforts that help bridge the human-wildlife conflict due to dwindling habitats that also are home to people – hence the support of arts and culture directly supports people’s economic health, which lessens the stress on habitats and wildlife diversity preservation efforts. 16 Water St. Williamstown, MA 01267 OPEN TUESDAY-SUNDAY CLOSED MONDAY 10 - 6:00

Fine Art PAST EXHIBITIONS Featured Artists

JUNE 23. 2018 - FEBRUARY 28. 2019 In this space, you’ll see some of Xtina Parks’ most iconic photographs. Each photo was taken on a Nikon full-frame digital camera. For smaller-scale images, she went "old school"--these images were turned into 4x5 LVT negatives, which were then processed in the darkroom by Master Printer Alissa Marquis at f22BW. Marquis prints our photographs using the Silver Gelatin process, invented in 1871. The large format photographs were printed at Cone Editions studio using a process called "Piezography." Invented at Cone, Piezography is the highest quality and most archival digital black and white printing system available. Xtina Parks adheres to a high photographic standard, and as such, these images are in no way altered beyond the removal of dust spots or for developing the contrast and tones. Xtina Parks Xtina Parks (b. 1971) is an American photographer, filmmaker, and conservationist, known for her images of African wildlife. Raised in Massachusetts by a Vietnamese mother and an Irish American father, Parks has a natural penchant for reaching across cultures and an innate capacity for storytelling. She first traveled to Africa in 2010 and developed a passion for the preservation and habitat restoration of endangered species. Capturing such animals in their natural habitat has informed her artistic process. Her photography is deeply inspired by her work (with scientists, conservationists, and local communities) to protect wildlife, especially critically endangered species, such as the African painted wolf and the elephant. Parks shoots with a Nikon camera and often works in black and white. She uses a wide-angle lens in order to frame the wildlife within the greater landscape. Her focus on pattern and composition unifies the elements of her images, emphasizing the interdependent relationship between her animal subjects and their environment. In My Dream, a leopard’s spotted coat is dramatically set off against the furrowed bark of its tree, while the large cat in Sayari Baby blends right into the speckled surface of her rock perch. Parks uses stark contrast of light and shadow to underscore the drama of the cloud-filled skies and the animated textures of the flora and fauna. An old personal injury limits the length of the zoom lens that Parks can use, therefore she must be in close proximity to the animals to capture closeups. This “handicap” of sorts has actually enhanced Park’s sensitivity to their comfort and temperaments. She never forces an interaction or oversteps boundaries; she won’t photograph an animal if she senses any resistance. These majestic creatures often return her gaze, adding to the power of the photographs, which directly connect the viewer to the animals. Xtina is also an author and documentarian. Her book, ROAM (Headline Studios), published in 2023, is a collection of wildlife images, shot over the course of six years, in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania. Candid and engaging storytelling accompany the breathtaking images that reflect her philanthropic, humanitarian and conservationist philosophies on African wildlife. Her documentary, Lost in Ethiopia, shot in 2015-16, chronicles her journey with a team of conservationists, to Ethiopia’s remote Harenna Forest to investigate the rare, unstudied lions of that region. Xtina has also been an integral part of several African research studies, that inform national parks and wildlife reserves’ management on best practices to protect and preserve African wildlife. Parks’ work is on display at the Morning Star Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico; ROAM: A Xtina Park Gallery–housed in the MASS MoCA complex in North Adams, Massachusetts; the Hotel Barriere Fouquet's in New York City; and Hyatt House LAX. Her photographs are in numerous private collections.

Shepherd Ndudzo Shepherd Ndudzo was born in Rusape, Zimbabwe in 1978, and currently lives and works in Botswana as a sculptor. Ndudzo learned sculpting from his father, Barnabas Ndudzo, also a renowned sculptor and attended a one-year course in Fine Arts at the University of Unisa, Tshwane. Presently he works from his studio in Gaborone Botswana. Made from Wild Syringa, Ironwood and stone, the natural beauty of his materials is further enhanced by his habit of sanding or carving patterns into it. Although based on his personal experiences, his works also draw on folk stories and address the socio-political crises affecting his home country, Zimbabwe. ​ Ndudzo’s work explores and celebrates the female form, in both playful and poetic pose. His inspiration is often based on his wife and daughters, but he also explores interpersonal relationships, as well as more universal issues, such as the unfolding tragedy of migrants leaving their countries. The combination of marble and granite (sourced from Namibia and Zambia) with the rich patina of ancient ironwood, all impenetrable substances, enriches the visual fluidity of the sculptural image. The contrast of dark wood with lighter stone surfaces, and their respective textured patterns allow light and shadow to play with the form, creating movement and energy, defying the static nature of the materials. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Works

October 30 - January 31 2023 Artists 1/1

Ronel Jordaan Ronel Jordaan is a South Africa based textile designer whose work is inspired by nature. Using felted wool as her creative medium, her original designs playfully and eloquently mirror organic forms and textures seen in nature. She turns fine gossamer thread into robust felted forms. Her goal is for these elements to infuse a home with the comforting serenity, purity and beauty of the outdoors. By patiently rubbing and coaxing threads of pure wool into shapes in nature that inspire her, she found her direction and stared a small home industry. In an effort to alleviate unemployment among women living in the city townships of South Africa, her company is dedicated to transference of skills, eco-friendly processes and celebration of respect for the environment. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Rocks

Michael Methven Michael Methven and his wife Anthea launched Moon and Magic, a design initiative that showcases cutting-edge traditional African craft with world design, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. ​ As the innovators of the Pan African Market, Michael and Anthea have encouraged the idea of cultural tolerance through this concept and with it they have trail-blazed Cape Town into celebrating that which makes it African. This indoor African Art market has been the progeny of several look-alike markets and ideas in the Cape Town CBD alone; it has helped to bring a lively hub back to the city center as well as giving many small businesses in the Craft Sector platforms that would otherwise not have existed. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Works

Tania Babb Tania Babb was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in Mozambique and now creates her sculptures and teaches ceramics from her studio home in Cape Town, South Africa. Tania likes to capture fleeting moments in clay: Pets sit self-assured next to their owners on a couch, certain of a place in their hearts, women sit astride hulking African animals, totems of the power they have brought forth, women dance with wild abandon to music only they can hear, celebrating their freedom, couples stand arm in arm, but is he more reluctant than her? ​ Her art is about the powers of the female archetype and the inherent wisdom of women. She identifies as an African artist for the continent’s subtle but persuasive energy which few tangibles have the power to describe. Of African art and ceramics, Tania sees the “colors, the vibrancy, the fresh and new surfaces, the immediacy, (which) to me are all evidence of a rawness that I feel is unfettered and untampered by hundreds of years of civilization.” ​ Tania prefers to work in buttery porcelain which she feels has the feeling of human flesh, with all the vulnerability that being human implies. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Works

Clementina van der Walt Clementina van der Walt is a well-known South African studio potter, based in Cape Town, who has in the past four decades lectured, run a production studio, and held many one-person shows. Her work is represented in several South African national and international collections. Together with her partner Albie Bailey, they run Clementina Ceramics Studio and a separate store in Woodstock Cape Town, South Africa. They also run a small Kraaldoring Studio and Gallery outside Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo. ​ Her aesthetic inspiration is drawn from the patterns, colors, and textures in the urban and African rural landscapes. She uses techniques of press molding, casting, and throwing with earthen ware clays, slips and underglazes. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Works

My Portfolio Welcome to my portfolio. Here you’ll find a selection of my work. Explore my projects to learn more about what I do.

Hennie Meyer Hennie Meyer is a ceramic artist based out of Cape Town, South Africa who uses the concept of repetition to cross over into the realm of installation. He makes use of multiples to create larger pieces. Conceptually he is interested in the diverse roles played by individuals in groups. ​ The concept of repetition and variation are central his work. Hennie studied ceramics in Australia and South Africa. He exhibits extensively, both locally and overseas. His work has been included in numerous permanent collections and international publications. For Inquiries please contact: ROAM@ROAMGALLERY.PHOTO Blocks Boogie Woogie Sculptures X's