Elkana Ong'esa

Elkana Ong'esa was born in November 1944 to the artisan community of Kisii in western Kenya as the first child of a family of six sons and four daughters. His grandfather and both of his parents were recognized traditional crafts persons.

Elkana Ong'esa studied Fine Arts at Makerere University in Uganda, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya, where he completed his postgraduate thesis on stone carving in East Africa. Ong'esa also attended the McGill University in Canada in 1985, where he obtained a M.Ed. in Teaching of Art.

In 1987 he travelled to Arctic Canada and worked with Eskimo green stone carvers. From 1975 to 1989, he served as Senior Lecturer and Head of Creative Arts at Kisii Teachers College in western Kenya. From 2001 to 2003 he was Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. In 2007, he was Artist-in-Residence, lecturing on Arts in Kenya at Hofstra University, New York, and other institutions in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Dallas. In 2009, he was elected first President of the newly formed Pan-African Association of Visual Arts (PAVA). In 2011 he was an Artist-in-Residence at Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

International Exhibitions




2010

'WILL' Exhibition in Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong



2007

Travelling exhibitions in New York, Dallas, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, USA



2006

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa



2005

Opera House, Cairo, Egypt, sponsored by Kenya Department of Culture & Afro-Arab Cultural Institute



1994/96/97

Tokyo, Japan, sponsored by JICA and JETRO



1990

New Zealand during the 1990 Commonwealth Games



1979

Svea Galleriet, Stockholm, Sweden



1987

Montreal & Toronto, Canada, soapstone sculpture exhibition
 



Awards




2004

'Head of State Commendation' (HSC) for exemplary contributions to art, culture and community socio-economic development initiatives



1995

Kenyatta University: Distinguished Services Award



1971

Makerere University: Award for Sculpture



1968

Makerere University: Award for Painting
 



Major Art Pieces




2010

Dancing Birds, 2.5 x 2.5 x 2m, red granite, for US Embassy, Nairobi, kenya



2008

Bird of Peace Emerging from Stone of Despair, granite, Murumbi Peace Memorial, City Park, Nairobi, kenya



2006

Her Mother, 3 x 3 x 2.5m, bronze, World Sculpture Park, Chang Chun City, Jilin Province, P.R.China



2004

Blessings III, soapstone, Rosenberg Museum, Hofstra University, New York, USA



1996

Dancing Around a Cola Bottle, soapstone, Coca-Cola Olympics Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, USA



1984

In Search of Water, Caltex Oil offices in Irving Texas, USA



1978

Enyamuchera (Bird of Peace), 1.6m. ht. (7-ton) soaptsone, UNESCO, Paris, France



 
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