The artist who sacrificed final MBA exam for love of painting

Adrian Nduma stands next to one of his paintings. PHOTO | MARGARETTA WA GACHERU 

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

In Summary

• Former bank manager who now sells a piece of art for millions of shillings was always restless to paint.

Adrian Nduma is one Kenyan artist who has put to rest the stereotype about the struggling, impoverished African artist, the reason older generations use to discourage their children from pursuing a career in the arts.

That same stereotype of the penniless painter, sculptor, actor or ‘creative’ of any kind is also the outdated view that still clouds the minds of policy-makers who refuse to include the arts in the national curriculum.

These technocrats in the Education ministry seemingly do not envision economic value, or, at least, lucrative career paths, coming from anyone who wants to become a professional artist.

Mr Nduma, 42, recently sold his second semi-abstract painting for more than Sh2 million. The first one was on exhibition at the Nairobi Gallery in 2012 when it sold for Sh2.1 million.

It was seen as such a big deal by some that Nduma’s story went viral on social media as well as on national television.

But after the initial thrall and countless parents calling up the TV station to find out where they could send their kids to learn how to paint the same way as Nduma, the interest cooled considerably.

The public could be forgiven for seeing his success as a one-off deal.

Yet his second painting sale came late last year when his artwork sold for Sh2.7 million after it was seen and sought by a fellow Kenyan while exhibiting at the Nairobi National Museum.

Nduma is not the only Kenyan whose art frequently sells for more than a million shillings for a single painting or sculpture.

Veteran artist Wanyu Brush sold one of his paintings at Gallery Watatu for Sh2 million.

There are many more Kenyans who may not want to boast about their financial success but admit that they are comfortable with the kind of incomes they earn as full-time painters and sculptors.

One thing that makes Nduma especially proud is the fact that his most lucrative sales have been from fellow Kenyans who are increasingly becoming art collectors.

“I am selling most of my art to my fellow Kenyans,” says Nduma who had originally bought into the myth that the only way someone could make a good living was to become either a doctor, lawyer, banker or politician.

In fact, straight out of the University of Nairobi in 1997, he took a bit of time trying to figure out what to do next.

He briefly tried teaching, then working in advertising and finally, in 2000, he went to work at Commercial Bank of Africa where he rose up the ranks to become a branch manager. of shillings was always restless to paint.

But Mr Nduma was restless. At the time, he was not yet prepared to scratch his artistic itch.

Instead, he went for a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Nairobi. It was while taking business courses that he realised art had to be an integral part of his life.

What is more, he was now gaining good business skills which could help him make a successful career as both a painter and a businessman. Mr Nduma got so inspired by this revelation that he never took the final exam for his MBA.

Instead, he opened his own Bonzo Gallery off Ngong Road across from The Junction.

Food and art

“I already had plenty of my own artwork to put on the walls of the gallery since I used to come home from the bank and paint practically every night,” he told the Business Daily.

Fortunately, he had sufficient space in his home to partition off a set of rooms for the gallery and guest parking, so he doesn’t have to waste time in Nairobi traffic. He is a frequent exhibitor with the National Museums of Kenya.

In fact, his most recent artwork is up at the Nairobi Museum’s Creativity Gallery until the end of the week.

Entitled ‘Digitalised Art’, the exhibition reflects Mr Nduma’s desire to experiment and grow artistically.

Using multi-media, especially cast-off cell phones, he has gone back to a semi-abstract style of painting. It can be acrylic paint, cell phones or chocolate (which he used to paint during a pre-Dusit D2 Hotel Chocolate Festival).

Mr Nduma has built up such a loyal fan base of local art collectors that a number of them come on Wednesday nights to Bonzo Gallery where he mixes art, food and business.

The dinners are open to the public who want a better understanding of Kenyan art but don’t care to go back to school.

They just like hearing what the artist says about his own and other Kenyans’ artworks.

margaretta.gacheru@gmail.com