WAPI Kenya was founded by the British Council (BC) and is currently hosted, managed and owned by Sarakasi Trust. WAPI is all about words and pictures and the underground scene. This means that artists who normally do not get a chance because they are not part of the main stream get a chance to perform and grow at WAPI. WAPI hosts several artists, one can think of Rappers, R&B artists, Hip-Hoppers, Graffiti sprayers, Poets, Musicians, Writers, Filmmakers, Painters, Fashion designers, Graphic designers, Illustrators, Sculptors and Photographers.

WAPI is a monthly event that takes place every last Saturday of the month at the Sarakasi Dome. Each time it attracts up to 1,000 young people from in and around Nairobi. The target group for WAPI is youth between the age of 18 and 35. During these events artist get a platform to showcase their talents. There is also a platform for painters to put down their art on graffiti boards. Through these platforms the underground scene gets a chance to reach a bigger audience. There are always people present at WAPI who are willing to give young, underground artists the chance to grow and to develop.

To get WAPI to a bigger audience the idea is to go back to the roots of WAPI and create a monthly theme. Different themes can be WAPI Green Day, to focus on the environment, WAPI Dadahood, for valuing women and WAPI Detox, for Kicking the substance abuse habit. During each WAPI workshops, (dubbed SkillFactories) take place along the same theme. With these themes the idea is to attract a more gender balanced audience as well. To that extend the fashion show is alschao going to be a returning item during WAPI. The third thing that is planned to create a bigger audience is to bring WAPI outdoors, right now WAPI always takes place in the Dome. By bringing it outside a brighter, lighter feeling is created. The first WAPI outside at the Dome was a great success.

WAPI fits greatly within Sarakasi as it fits its audience building program and its objective to offer everyone a platform and to reach out to under developed communities and to create peaceful co-existence and understanding by involving youth from different backgrounds.

For more info: http://www.wapikenya.com/