The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage in partnership with the private sector undertook renovation of the Kenya National Theatre. The renovations done under the Kenya@50 Legacy Projects initiative by the Ministry has seen the facility upgrade its auditorium, sound and lighting system and key amenities such as washrooms and changing rooms. The orchestra pit which is in the basement, but forms pat of the stage was refurbished. All the changing rooms of the performers were redone and redesigned. The initially run-down dance studio was repaired, the floor redone, while the balancing bars and mirrors used by the dancers have been fitted a new.
Wasanii Restaurant and Bar, located within the building, was redesigned and renovated. There is a new padding on the restaurant walls to cushion client from the noise in the auditorium. The balcony, too, was fitted with new seats and new padding.
To ensure activities at the theatre run uninterrupted in case of a power blackout, a stand-by generator was installed to ensure lights remain on. Initially, the theatre was served by a looped line from the transformer located within the neighbouring University of Nairobi. However, because of the new equipment and demand for a certain level of power supply, a new transformer was installed. A 49,000 litres water tank was installed to ensure taps in the facility do not run dry for two weeks continuously.
The auditorium was fitted with 365 new bright-red velvet seats which are more comfortable and bigger with more leg room.
Increased capacity to hold cultural activities has seen more and more activities taking place at the National Theatre such as the
South African week and the INDRICO Festival 2020 which were held at the new-look cultural centre. The South Africa Cultural seasons in Kenya was aimed at cementing and deepening the relations between the peoples of the two countries and to promote regional integration and support efforts towards expanded trade of cultural goods and services.
The cultural seasons was also aimed at the implementation of the African Union Charter of African cultural Renaissance and African Union Agenda 2063, which both elaborate on the importance of Africa's total emancipation and development, and call for Africa to unite in cultural diversity and Africa Renaissance through creative and cultural industries.
The focus was also on thanking the international community for their participation and support in the struggle for liberation and an end to apartheid, profiling the contributions of individual countries and highlighting future areas of collaboration.
It is against this background that the cultural seasons programme was crafted to pay particular attention to sharing the stories of how democracy and freedom was achieved in South Africa with the contributions and support from the African Countries and the rest of the world, using the different artistic genre. The focus was to highlight the strength of African Unity and integration, as well as collaborations in shaping the future of South Africa and the African continent
The activity was held between 25th February to 2nd March 2019 at the Kenya Cultural Centre and 50 artists from South Africa were engaged in this cultural showbiz as well as 175 Kenyan artists.
The following domains were covered; Performing arts, Visual arts, Culinary arts, Film, Craft, Design and Movies.
USD 10,000.00
| Name of partner | Type of entity |
|---|---|
Kenya Cultural Centre
| Public Sector
|
Kenya Breweries
| Private Sector
|
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
| Public Sector
|
N/A