We provide facilities, technical and advocacy support for the development, performance, and display of different forms of creative and artistic expression, and the growth of a vibrant and sustainable cultural sector in our country and region.

Our facility located on Dunga Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area has hosted a wide array of local and international artists.

 

 

We have provided artist studios, exhibition and performance spaces, and networking opportunities for local and international residencies.

Our goals have been to “facilitate the development of diverse art forms and the emergence of independent artists” who have the skills and resources to earn a dignified living from their craft and have adequate means of self-actualization.  

By catalysing the growth of a vibrant cultural sector in Kenya and across the region we aim to “stimulate cultural self-assurance and confidence between Kenyan society and Kenyan creative and cultural resources.” All Kenyan communities boast a rich artistic and cultural heritage. In a post-colonial era, however, we are in a space where we are reclaiming the legitimacy and role of our artistic voice and actors in the nuanced interpretation and documentation of our past and present, and the envisioning and shaping of our collective and all-inclusive future.  

 

The GoDown philosophy is centred on participatory, collaborative meaningful practice and processes which “explore and are responsive to societal issue through intersections with art, culture and creativity.”

Set to mark our 20th anniversary in 2023, we continue to carve out our niche as a cultural and knowledge hub through our programs and activities, with the goal of inspiring “the shaping of contemporary Kenyan identities by promoting, generating, documenting and disseminating endogenous narratives and knowledge.” 

 

It is our belief that a vibrant cultural sector creates space for dialogue and exploration of our urban and national identity, the question of belonging, and social construction at the community and national level, all of which catalyse civic engagement and a strengthened sense of agency. As such, we are members of the Creative Economy Working Group which is one of the platforms for engagement in sector related policy advocacy.

  

We have embarked on the redevelopment of our arts centre, an initiative which will offer the sector greater infrastructural and programmatic support in the form of a state-of-the-art, civic-scale, public-access arts and cultural centre. This redevelopment effort has been centred on participatory processes involving the community around our space, and clear focus on sustainable construction methods and development practices.