Nakuru
The city of Nakuru, with its rich cultural heritage, takes pride in a range of cultural assets that instill culture and creativity. In the creative field of Crafts and Folk art, Nakuru is endowed with venues, annual cultural events, cultural landmarks, and icons that constitute the city´s main cultural assets. Nakuru’s crafts and folk art sector includes innovative artists who express an authentic cultural identity. These artists come from the fields of sculpture, visual arts, beadworks, fabric making and design, metalwork, pottery, storytelling, folklore, among others. They are the heart of Nakuru’s creative economy and its structure, which brings together thirteen creative sub-sectors that use culture and creativity as strategic tools for economic prosperity. In light of the city’s recognition of the importance of mainstreaming creativity for the achievement of development goals, it has initiated hands-on programmes with the purpose of harnessing the potential of creative industries by training professionals and building networks thereby propelling the sector’s growth. Furthermore, the city also organized a number of events namely, Nakuru International Investment Conference 2018 and Nakuru Business Expo 2020, to provide professionals in crafts and folk art with opportunities to exhibit their art works to attract investment and help distribute their creations. With a view to broadening communication channels to create awareness and promote the Network and itself as a Creative City, Nakuru will provide a deliberate development of partnership with the national, regional and international media houses, related digital platforms, popular bloggers and influencers.
As a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, the following steps will be important: • Providing new creative spaces by building cultural centres, music studios and art galleries in order to develop hubs of creativity and innovation and therefore broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector; and • Fostering the development of a community festival, aimed at showcasing the local cultural heritage while leaving no one behind.
