About Kambani

Welcome to Kambani. This site is dedicated to the promulgation of vibrant African Art. A lot of effort has been spent making the site as simple and easy to navigate as possible so please take a look round, forward your comments and register your interest. We will endeavour to answer any queries you might have. 

 

All the information contained on this site should enable any interested visitor, an opportunity to invest in a piece of art that is genuinely from the heart of Africa, at an affordable and reasonably negotiable price, and that is ultimately for a very good cause. Monies realised are genuinely helping under-represented, financially challenged artists in Africa, by providing them a helping hand in completing their artistic education.


Money is also used to support Kambani's programme of children's creative writing initiatives in the UK. Programmes are contributing to children's cultural educational awareness and are lending them an opportunity to make positive impacts in society.

 

Kambani will gladly assist anyone with any query relating to our ethos. Feel free to get in touch through the contacts page and we will certainly make every effort to answer any query you might have.

 

So please take a look round, give your feedback, constructive criticism is welcomed as it provides an avenue for improvement.

Thank you

Kambani Arts is a not-for-profit organisation  set up with the aim of supporting African  under represented artists and engaging children in cultural awareness initiatives through our  programmes of  creative writing. Our programmes help alleviate  the poverty of our African artists through these creative initiatives which generate maximum exposure and remuneration for artists whilst creating cultural educational awareness for participating children.    

Kambani exhibits the work of member artists in a variety of venues, many high profile. Exhibitions are flavoured with specific creative writing themes for participating children. Children's work enhances the art in a unique way that only the magic of a child can achieve.

Kambani aims to represent children's work in a variety of ways including; greeting card inserts, an annual educational publication and complimentary literature for exhibitions. Proceeds from Kambani's initiatives will go towards the developing arts centres in Africa starting with a pilot in Nigeria in 2006.

The French Language and Culture centre Alliance Française have pledged their support through their offer of a building to facilitate the pilot in Enugu, Nigeria. The aim is to use the lessons learned from the pilot to embark on an African campaign of arts centre initiatives.

Chima Ezeilo, Director
A brief art focussed profile on Director and founder, Chima Ezeilo   
click here

The name Kambani emerged following the realisation that the company needed a more positive and identifiable image, directly representing the message the company is expressing. In March 2004, Chima contacted his then few artists and asked them to explore and come up with a name for the company that was original, African and represented the ethos of what was trying to be achieved.

A number of suggestions came back but there was nothing simple and catchy and also directly relevant. It was at this point that Chima’s wife suggested trying a Central African word. Out of a shortlist of 5 names, the word Kambani stood out, both for its meaning and its simplicity. We then asked the artists what they thought of the name as it was largely their work being promoted, all artists consulted were in agreement and hence the name Kambani was decided.

Kambani is a Zambian word meaning “expression”. This one word encapsulates all that the company is trying to achieve. It is “expressing” the art of Africa to a global audience
A search through company’s house UK revealed no prior registration for Kambani and so the name was snapped up by Chima. Since then he has not looked back and has been aggressively announcing the name Kambani in a multitude of promotional events.

Kambani understands the reality of the art world. It is realistic in its expectations. It is not a specialist art dealer, rather it is doing completely the opposite.

Kambani is taking the work of unknown, often hard-up student artists and presenting this to the world through a variety of events and exhibitions. Kambani’s primary goal is to help these artists alleviate their financial position and assist them in providing for their education by supplementing their incomes whilst studying. As such, Kambani’s pricing structure is reasonable and negotiable.

Kambani's Exhibition Approach   
In its relentless pursuit to create exposure for its
artists, Kambani has a simple exhibiting philosophy
For any event organiser contemplating using Kambani for enhancing their environment with a vibrant exhibition of rich African art......
click here

If you are interested in Buying or Renting Kambani's Art, please click here...

There is a lot of background work that is involved in preparing Kambani's art for presentation. This glimpse has been added to show what really takes place....

Preparing Artwork for Professional Presentation:
A behind the scenes Look
 click here   

 Some Editorial  Features on Kambani
This Day is a trendsetting national daily Nigerian newspaper. It is world acclaimed with one of the highest online circulations of any Nigerian publication. This Day's Ijeoma Oguachuba kindly agreed to feature a large spread on Kambani having held an extensive online interview with Chima to draw out Kambani's objectives and aspirations,  focusing on the Enugu exhibition in May 05.  View the article here.

As their logo implies, The Voice is arguably Britain's best black newspaper with a massive circulation within the huge multi-cultural community in Britain. Kambani was featured in their 28 February 2005 edition in the V2 section in a full two page spread. Chima proudly advocated his mission to promote the huge wealth of artistic talent to a global audience. You can view the article here.

Kambani is featured in November 2004's Aspire Magazine which is a magazine focussed on Women of Colour. Editor Celine Loader was kind enough to reference Kambani in a 4 page editorial feature focussed on the exploitation of African art. Kambani was highlighted as an authentic company with a transparent and accountable approach in its support of their member artists.

Ovation International is probably the most popular and widely circulated African glamour magazine on the market today. Chief Dele Momodu, the magazines principal editor, kindly agreed to feature an article on Kambani in a forthcoming issue. Kambani is indebted to Ovation for this honour. Look out for this feature between now and March 2005.

Kambani met with Barbara Campbell, the editor of Live Listings Magazine in June 2004. The magazine is a Black oriented events publication guide timetabling Black centred events in London. Since Chima and Barbara met, a healthy business relationship has developed and  Barbara has since agreed to feature the progress of Kambani's artists in Live Listings magazine.

Kambani was featured in the Newham Recorder in January 2004. This was Kambani's first editorial. The Recorder is a local East London Newspaper that was quite keen to cover the exhibition in the East London Centre as it brought life, colour and culture to the centre.
 

There is also a lot of background work that is involved in transporting, presenting and exhibiting  Kambani's artwork. This glimpse shows what actually takes place....

Planning, Transportation & Exhibition:
A behind the scenes Look         
click here

Appreciation's

To all those whose support have made the Kambani dream possible

To the support of my wife Mavis, the silent worker who bears up in the worst of times, the silent sufferer whose house is constantly in a mess during each exhibition but doesn't complain, the one who has not expressed doubt in her husbands dream, the one who has attended events to offer support whatever the circumstance, the silent supporter that makes it all possible.

To Chike Obeagu, artist, curator, friend and Nigerian exhibition co-ordinator for his untiring efforts in assisting Kambani. It is rare to find someone that believes in a dream unquestionably, one that is always ready to help, one that has never complained, one that stands by you and presses for excellence. Chike is that person, humble and mild mannered, soft spoken and honest and someone I consider a pillar of strength for the aspirations of Kambani.

To Barbara Campbell, editor of Live Listings magazine who has been especially helpful in assisting Kambani get where it is today. She has always been forthcoming with advice and has even pursued contacts on Kambani's behalf and ensured they received glowing references. She has also agreed to feature Kambani's artists on a rolling basis in her magazine. Barbara we thank you heartily for your great support.

To Tony & Kemi Towesho, husband and wife TV production outfit for EVENTS, aired on Sky TV's BEN channel and MITV Nigeria. EVENTS was winner of the Afro-Broadway Black History Month Award 2004 for their TV production skills acknowledged by Ovation magazine issue 70. Tony & Kemi have used their exemplary skills in their support of Kambani’s work. Through their help, Kambani has featured on BEN TV.

To my young brother-in-law Osita Oniah for his whiz kid abilities on the web front. Osita is only 12 years old but helped me put the website together with his phenomenal knowledge of HTML and Java scripting, never defeated by a problem but ever keen to find a speedy solution. With his multitude of messenger links all around the world, Osita would easily network and find answers to many a nagging problem.

To Tobi Omojayogbe for his professional webmaster advice and support. The professional who corrected any errors on the scripting  and programming side. Once created by Chima and Osita, Tobi would be the one to rectify any errors and was always available for assistance despite his heavily pressured contracting schedule.

To Obiora Ikeme, friend and colleague  who has assisted with the coordination of events and exhibitions across London. He has also helped with the practical aspects of exhibitions; from set up and props to artwork protection and vital  networking. Kambani is indebted to him for all this help especially when you realise that events often finish after 3am and then packing up can go on until 5am. This means getting home after 6am. Thank you!

To Natasha Taylor & sister Rosita Lynch who have voluntarily  helped Kambani at a number of events. Natasha has been great as Kambani's un-official photographer and has taken a number of excellent pictures of event proceedings. With her sister they have been especially instrumental in bringing celebrities to the Kambani stand to take pictures and find out more about our work.  I hope we can continue to work together in future.

Most of all to God who has made it all possible

Lastly to all those unmentioned supporters that have contributed
in some way to Kambani's progress. I thank you !!
© Kambani Ltd 05