the holmes À court gallery @ afrika.house

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The Holmes à Court Gallery in Nairobi is the third gallery to hold this rather unusual name. It is inspired by the legendary Australian gallerist Janet Holmes à Court, who just happens to also be my mother. Her work supporting Australian artists over more than six decades—many at the earliest stages of their careers—has seen her collection and galleries rise to international prominence.

The Australian galleries are, of course, much larger, much more prestigious, and have been operating for much longer. One of the principal reasons we chose this name was not because it is my surname, but because of Janet’s unpretentious approach to art—even art that is highly conceptual, avant-garde, and sometimes, when she began collecting it, profoundly underappreciated. This philosophy is embodied in the words “I think art is nice” which are proudly painted across the gallery’s side. They come directly from the front door of the Holmes à Court Gallery in Perth, Western Australia, and reflect Janet Holmes à Court’s uniquely unpretentious approach to art — both exhibiting it and enjoying it. She credits the phrase to an art graduate, Ben Jones, who, when asked to write an artist statement for a catalog, turned in a single sentence: I think art is nice. So do we. 

Today, Janet Holmes à Court teaches us to collect what you like, support who you like, live with it, damn the critics, and keep going. The Holmes à Court galleries in Perth, Western Australia, and Margaret River are the real deal, and we hope to learn from them while making a modest impact on raising the profile of Kenyan artists for both domestic and international audiences.

We are dedicated to white walls, hanging pictures straight, and exposing Kenyan creatives to the world. The Holmes à Court Collection has seen its pieces exhibited at Tate Modern, MoMA in New York, the National Gallery of Australia, and more than 300 other galleries and government institutions around the world. In Nairobi, we aspire to contribute to this legacy while championing the extraordinary artistic talent emerging from Kenya.