Street Art Competition: Ushirikiano - Pamoja na tofauti

The German Embassy Nairobi and the German Church are co-located and share a compound on Riverside Drive. The German Church acquired the property in 1967 and finally built a large office building in the early 2000s, which has been home to the German Embassy since September 2003. Most Kenyans passing by each day barely notice this centre of gravity of German-Kenyan relations. Diplomatically, these relations began in December 1963, when Germany was the first country to recognize Kenya as a sovereign state (hence 1CD licence plates). The building that hosts the Embassy today, is named after Ludwig Krapf, a German missionary who wrote the first dictionary and grammar of the Swahili language. The Embassy’s neighbour and landlord, the German Speaking Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation in Kenya (GSELC), sees itself as a welcoming church with a broad horizon in terms of language, culture and piety. A particular gem of the congregation is the beautiful garden and the impressive church hall - an oasis place to refuel, celebrate and take a break. The majority of the parish members are expats. The coming and going and the intensive temporary community characterise congregational life. This makes the German parish an important hub in the network of the German community.

This year, the German Embassy Nairobi and the German Church are launching a street art competition to redesign the outer perimeter wall facing Riverside Drive. The competition runs under the theme “Ushirikiano - Pamoja na tofauti”.

The task

Design of 10 fibre cement boards of 3,82 square meters (3,18m x 1,2m) that illustrate the presence of the German Embassy Nairobi and the German Church as well as the breadth and depth of German-Kenyan relations. The fibre cement boards will be installed on the outer wall by the Embassy and have to be designed there (working platform will be provided).

Possible elements that could be reflected in the design are beacons of German-Kenyan cooperation such as joint climate action and our support for effective multilateralism/UN. The cooperation of the GSELC with the Kenyan Partner-Church KELC (Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church), joint activities with many Kenyan partners in Kayole, Kibera, and at other places upcountry. Inspiration on the possible features of the design can be found on the Websites of the Embassy (www.nairobi.diplo.de) and the church (https://kirchenairobi.org).

Terms and Conditions

Eligible for submission are individual artists or artist collectives from Kenya. Deadline for submission of draft design concepts is 30 June 2025. The submissions will be reviewed by a joint panel composed of member of the Embassy and the church council. Three shortlisted artists or artist collectives will be invited to present and discuss the concepts with the joint panel in July. The selected artist/collective will be awarded the task to redesign the wall until 31 September 2025. The awarded contract is worth 350,000 KSh and covers the costs for material as well as the design effort.

Please upload your submission to a file sharing platform of your choice and send the download link to streetartcontest2025@nair.diplo.de. Please include information on yourself / your collective and up to date contact information.