Wanja Kimani is a visual artist and PhD Candidate at the Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS, University of London. Through film, textiles and installation, her work explores memory, trauma and the fluidity within social structures that are designed to care and protect, but mutate into coercive forces within society. She imposes elements of her own life into public spaces, creating a personal narrative where she is both author and character.

Wanja Kimani is Research Assistant on the All Our Histories project in partnership with Arts&Heritage and the UKRI funded research project ‘Art and Work in East Africa: New Engagements in Art Curating’ - a collaboration comprising Newcastle University, Makerere University and 32 Degrees East, Ugandan Arts Trust. 

She is a PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Drawing on embodied knowledge, her research explores the (re)construction of the black female queer body within public space in Kenya through performance art. She holds an MA in Human Rights from the University of Essex and a BA in Fine Art from the University for the Creative Arts.

• Kimani W. The Image of Ethiopia: From Campaign Imagery to Contemporary Art. In: Dr Julia Gallagher, ed. Images of Africa. Manchester University Press, 2015, pp.167-187. In Preparation.
• Kimani W. Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya. Human Rights, Social Justice, and the Impact of Race 2010, (3), 251-263. In Preparation.