When Evans Ngure reflects on his childhood, the word that comes to mind is authentic. His childhood had less technology interference and that allowed him to take in the beauty of the landscape around him. Today as he walks around Nairobi, he realizes there are less sightings of groves. This has been one of the factors that has propelled him towards using his art to communicate.
He remembers the day his family packed up and left Eastleigh for Ngong. For anyone who knew the Nairobi area in the early 90s, you know that these two areas were worlds apart. The new home was on a farm and Evans needed no time adjusting. He immediately put on his exploring hat in search of the wonders the new neighborhood had to offer. Then, there was his father whose encouragement permitted Evans to tap into his artsy side. Almost every evening, as soon as his dad arrived home, he was given a drawing assignment. He would attempt sketching items in the vicinity such as the car, a cow, and even the family home. The first attempts were nowhere near the real things but Evans tried each day, challenging himself until he noticed the improvement. Soon enough, he was attempting to draw the likes of Popeye and Tintin in the newspaper comics section.
He was in Kerugoya Primary School at the time, a boarding institution in the central Kenya region. Art was not taught here and this fact threatened to dim Evans’s love for art, but fortunately for him, he wasn’t one to mull over things that he could not change. In fact, he took to exploring the school perimeter, discovering the birds and small animals that lurked around. When he was back home over the holidays, he’d find himself collecting discarded cans to make toy cars. Then he joined Kianyaga High School where art was accessible to him for four years. Evans learnt the basics that would urge him to consider pursuing art at the university. And that he did. In 2009, he joined Kenyatta University to study fine art. It was an intense four-year course but one that came with opportunities that he didn’t shy away from pursuing. The first was in 2010 when he was in his second year at campus. He heard of a khanga themed exhibition that was to take place at the Nairobi Gallery. Curving out time between his classes and assignments, Evans created a collection of mixed-media drawings which he presented to the curator. The consistency and determination proved fruitful when his work was accepted. But it wasn’t until he saw his work on display that he understood that it was a milestone. From then on, Evans wanted more satisfaction that came from seeing his work on display.
He graduated in 2013 having understood the work that went into painting. Venturing into the creative industry however meant that he needed to explore other crafts to create. This need pushed him into jewellery making. He sold his items on Facebook but the cash inflow wasn’t as good as he’d hoped. Scraping through the first year was difficult but a choice had to be made in order for bills to get paid. This turn of events led him to team up with his older brother to open a small food hotel in Kasarani where they would both prepare and serve food. With this new venture, Evans was always busy, only left with late hours after work and some weekends to create pieces. He continued creating jewellery and found the time to present his work in a few exhibitions. He did his part in making ends meet but as is the case in life your path is charted out for you. By the end of 2015, business at the hotel was low and once again Evans had to make a tough call. The brothers closed shop. Once this happened Evans had a new excitement within him. He felt encouraged to try art as an independent artist again. It was essentially a leap of faith and he committed himself to attending monthly exhibitions at the Art Space Kenya where he would engage with other artists. This effort enabled him to blend into the community of artists and his pieces started selling.
Today, Evans Ngure is a celebrated creator, crafter and art teacher. He has facilitated workshops at Brookhouse, Banda and Woodland Star schools and currently holds virtual lessons via his YouTube page. His process of crafting is rather spontaneous and involves the use of a variety of discarded materials which he collects from junk yards. Sometimes his materials come from clients and neighbours who donate items like old sufurias and bicycle parts. Once he receives or gathers these items, he cleans and vanishes them for preservation purposes. Then comes the visualization of what he can create. Crafting for him can take up to two weeks and once done, he takes the items to his website and social media to display and sell.
It’s interesting that despite a few setbacks, Evans Ngure has been steadfast in his pursuit. Truly he has a heart for art!
#KeCrafters
