Kibera Art Collective M2

Active · Kibera, Kenya · Updated 6 October 2026

In 2001, two artists walked the lanes of Kibera dressed in Maasai red, doing what they called moving art. People started calling them the two Maasai — Maasai Mbili. Twenty-five years on, the collective Gomba and Kota founded runs a studio in Nairobi’s largest informal settlement, teaches art to children and teenagers, and has shown work from Kuona Trust to the German and French cultural institutes. The Great Gathering met them in 2019. They have been part of nearly everything we have done in Kenya since.

Who does this project support?

This project supports the artists of the collective, and the young people they recruit off the street and teach to make art. Support extends to the entire community as every New Year since 2019 we have funded a gathering the artists host for the community, at the last celebration they fed roughly 300 children and adults. M2’s outreach work runs well beyond Kibera, across Kenya and into Uganda.

The Issue

Housing in Kibera is improvised and packed tight. Power is hooked up by hand and unstable, and electrical fires are common. The children M2 works with grow up with that. The work is good enough to hang in Nairobi’s galleries and to travel to international gatherings, but there is no reliable way to reach a buyer from inside the settlement. Income comes job to job, and materials run out. A member who has just learned to paint has nowhere to sell. Without equipment, internet and a storefront, a collective that has already proved art can be a livelihood struggles to share their work to a wider audience.

The Solution

M2’s model works, they recruit young people from the street and teach them to make art. They teach the community what art is and how it can support an artist. M2 members share jobs, materials and what they earn — so when one artist gets work, the others eat. We feel the community they support and the collective itself would benefit more if they had a website and a platform to sell their art directly to the world. This would also provide a platform to share their performing arts. There’s an ongoing need for art supplies, as well as the need for support with ongoing expenses like internet and phone service. Additionally there’s a need for laptops and equipment to stream live.

Potential Long Term Impact

A collective that sells its own work can fund its own outreach. The workshops, the murals and the New Year’s gatherings stop depending on donations and start running on what the artists earn. The model M2 created then keeps working for the next young person who walks in off the street, which is what they’ve been doing since 2001.

This is more than a project for us. Our team at The Great Gathering Nonprofit are honored to support this unique group of artists to continue their outreach and humanitarian work through art.

What we’ve done thus far…

Mural Projects

We’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to support mural projects in Kibera when COVID started as a way to educate the public. The Great Gathering Nonprofit purchased soap and food for the community and the artists during that difficult period.

New Year’s Events since 2019

We have sponsored every New Year’s event at the art collective for children and adults in the community since 2019. We supply food and art supplies, and for the New Year’s celebration of 2025 they fed approximately 300 children and adults. It has become a tradition in the slum after all these years – thanks to your generous donations.

Connectivity and equipment

We supported M2 with internet access for the collective during the pandemic, and a laptop and backup drive so the artists could reach the world beyond Kibera and keep their own archive.

Our next phase of work with M2 is to support the construction of a website with a platform for them to sell their incredible art to the world.

Paid Field Work

When The Great Gathering is at work in Kenya — driving, photography, video, interviews, and field notes are invaluable services M2 provides. They are valuable contributors to this organization.

How You can Help 

Donations support the basics M2 needs to keep working: art supplies, internet, phones, laptops and web development.

$6,000 USD is the current need.

If you would like to make a larger donation, please contact us directly for more details at info@thegreatgathering.org.