18 – 27 September 2026
Africa: reborn every day
An exhibition by Zachariah Mbutha
The Art Pavilion presents Africa: rinascere ogni giorno (Africa: Reborn Every Day), an exhibition by Zachariah Mbutha, organised by Koinonia – APS with the support of the Luigi Rovati Foundation.
The exhibition marks a new stage in the programme dedicated to international cooperation and social solidarity. Launched during the first half of the year through major collaborations with the Ambrosoli Foundation, the Imago Mundi Foundation and UNHCR, the programme resumes after the summer break with new projects exploring experiences of care, solidarity and support in particularly vulnerable contexts.
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The exhibition is one of the initiatives closest to the heart of Koinonia APS, the Italian sister organisation of Koinonia Community, founded in Kenya by Father Renato Kizito Sesana. In this case, the aim is to convey a vision of Africa that is rich in life, beyond poverty and hardship: an Africa of beauty and cultural strength, not merely of darkness and suffering. This approach certainly does not exclude an awareness, in each of us, of the immense suffering endured by people—and especially by children. On the contrary, it is also an invitation to make a tangible contribution.
Koinonia – APS is a non-profit organisation established in 1987 to promote social solidarity and development cooperation initiatives in Africa and Latin America. It became an ONLUS—a non-profit organisation of social utility—in 2006 and an APS—a social promotion association—in 2021. It is now registered with Italy’s Single National Register of the Third Sector. Based in Rome, the organisation has developed partnerships over the years with other national and international associations to support the projects led by Father Kizito.
The organisation places the most vulnerable and marginalised people—men, women and children—at the heart of its work. Even a small opportunity can enable them to escape poverty and look towards the future with new prospects.
Its initiatives focus particularly on the recovery and rehabilitation of children and young people living on the streets, who are welcomed into centres established in the outskirts of Nairobi. These facilities provide rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes, fostering self-esteem, awareness of individual rights and respect for gender equality.
In Nairobi, the organisation also supports the Salama project, which protects young mothers and women facing difficult circumstances by providing employment opportunities and support for their families. In Kilifi County, on the Kenyan coast, the recently launched Nyota ya Asubuhi (Morning Star) project aims to achieve systemic social impact: raising educational standards among large groups of children and young people, preventing poverty caused by unemployment, and combating all forms of exploitation, including the sexual exploitation of young people.
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Organiser:
Koinonia – APS
https://www.koinoniaitalia.org
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Supported by:
Poetica Fondazione per la GenerativitĂ Sociale
Cooperativa Sociale La MeridianaÂ
Fondazione Credito Bergamasco
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Koinonia’s projects can be supported through the purchase of works featured in the exhibition.
Zachariah Mbutha
Artist
Zachariah Mbutha (Kenya, 1949) is one of the leading figures in contemporary Kenyan painting. Born in the village of Kamburu, in Kiambu District, he initially trained and worked as a teacher, eventually becoming the headmaster of a primary school. Passionate about art from an early age, he entered a pan-African art competition for the first time in 1968 and won an award. In 1979, he left teaching permanently to devote himself to painting.
In the mid-1980s, he joined Nairobi’s art scene through Gallery Watatu. In 1992, he won the French Cultural Centre Art Panorama competition. Two years later, he held solo exhibitions at the French Cultural Centre in Nairobi and the Fonderie Gallery in Paris. He also exhibited in Portugal, Japan and Germany, establishing a strong presence on the international art scene.
His works are now held in public and private collections, including the Gunter Péus Collection – African Modernism, a major European collection devoted to African modern art, and continue to feature on the international art market.
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