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* Street Children’s fun day 
* Billboard Project
* Public Art Bus 
* Public Art Displays 
* Culture Africa Network (CAN)

Working to make art better known in the community has always been a fundamental part of Kuona’s mission. Helping more people to make art part of their everyday lives is seen by Kuona as a practical necessity for the future prosperity of East African artists, as well as a way to ensure that creative expression will find its role in balanced future society. With this background, Kuona Trust has worked to ensure a public outreach component in all its major projects, and tries, wherever possible, to initiate new public art projects hand-in-hand- with local sponsors. Some of the successful outreach projects include:

Street Children’s fun day programme: 

Kuona Trust in conjunction with the National Museums of Kenya runs a street kids fun day programme where once a month 60 street children are invited to spend a fun day at the National Museum in Nairobi.  Activities include a visit to the Museum Galleries, art activities, drama and an educational movie, with provisions for lunch and a snack. The programme is currently in its third phase: the first - funded directly by the German Development Cooperation GTZ, the second by local Kenyans through a fund-raising initiative by the GTZ, and the third phase by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi.

As a direct result of the street children’s programme, Kuona Trust coordinated the construction of an environmentally orientated work of art created by street children using discarded wire. The enormous Baobab tree was constructed in November and December 1999 by more than 80 children from a number of homes associated with the Kuona Trust street children’s projects. They were guided and assisted by artist Omega Ludenyi and a number of other volunteers. “The Children’s Millenium Tree” has already become a landmark in the bleak city landscape, leading to a number of similar new commissions for the artist and the children involved.

 Public Art Bus:
the sponsorship of travel on Kenya Bus city transport for studio artists resulted in two buses being painted as the city’s most mobile artworks in January 1998 and June 1999. The impact of the huge and eye-catching paintings cruising the streets can not be overlooked. The buses were provided by Kenya Bus Services and paint by Sadolin Paints, while Kuona Trust covered the expenses of participating artists.

Billboard Project

 During August, September and half of October 1998, Kuona Trust worked with the Dutch artist Rene Klarenbeek to realise the Daily Billboard Project in central Nairobi. Every day during the project, Rene and the Kenyan artists working with him would present a new painting on a 9 sqm Billboard erected on Aga Khan Walk. Passers by were invited to write comments on what they saw on papers. These were later attached to the Billboard each evening for public perusal before yet a new painting was installed. Each new painting was inspired by a comment or comments made during the day and in this way the Billboard became a diary of public opinion on events of popular concern ranging from the August ’98 Bomb Blast to the rights of children and tribal clashes. The Daily Billboard reached tens of thousands of Nairobi people each day – and tens of thousands more over the internet which was updated daily from a special computer installed in a café nearly. The project was supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and a large number of independent local companies in Kenya and in Holland, namely:-

National Museums of Kenya 
The Stanley Hotel
Sadolin Paints
Africa Online
Kodak Kenya
Bart Internet Services (Netherlands)
Travel Trends (Netherlands)

Public Art Displays
Commercial Bank Africa / Royal Netherlands Embassy Window Display
Both organisations have displayed artworks by Kenyan artists on their walls. The impact upon the large number of people who pass the windows weekly is significant and worthwhile, as well as providing a channel through which the artists can sell their work.