Penny Stamps Speaker Series - Kaloki Nyamai

Special Event: 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at UMMA's Helmut Stern Auditorium

Kaloki Nyamai, born in Kitui, Kenya, is a multidisciplinary artist working with installation, painting, and sculpture living and working in Nairobi. From an early age, his mother introduced him to painting and taught him to draw, fostering an interest in art. He studied Interior Design at the Buruburu Institute Of Fine Arts (BIFA) and then pursued painting after working in other creative fields. Among Nyamai’s inspirations are his mother and grandmother, Kenyan history, and the current experience of being Kenyan and African.
Nyamai has shown his work across the globe in solo exhibitions at venues such as the Norval Foundation, Cape Town; James Cohan Gallery, New York; and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin. He has participated in group exhibitions and biennials, most recently at the Sharjah Biennial 16; The Völklinger Hütte; the Kenyan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale; the Dakar Biennale; the Stellenbosch Triennale; the Ostrale Biennale, Dresden; and the Kampala Biennale. His works are part of numerous private and institutional collections around the world, such as the Dallas Art Museum, the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art, the Arthur Primas Museum, and Buxton Contemporary. He is a member of the artist council of MOWAA, Nigeria.

Presented in partnership with the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities. Kaloki Nyamai’s exhibition, Tukilile Vaa, will be on display from January 14 through February 27, 2026 at the Institute for the Humanities Gallery on 202 S. Thayer. Additional work will be on display at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.