Core Team

Ajax Axe is a visual artist, film director, and activist known for her thought-provoking and immersive installations and exhibitions. Axe splits her time between Colorado and Kenya, allowing her to draw inspiration from both Western and African cultures.

Axe's work explores the complex relationships between philosophy, community identity, and material culture, with a particular focus on the ways in which these elements shape our ideas about the future of civilization. Through her installations and exhibitions, she deconstructs social mythologies and challenges viewers to think critically about the world around them.

In addition to her artistic pursuits, Axe is also active as an activist, working to promote social and environmental justice. She is deeply committed to using her art and platform to make a positive impact on the world around her.

She has shown her work at the Tate Museum, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Carpenter Museum as well as solo show at The Gonzo Gallery, Skye Gallery and Fat City Gallery

Abdul Rop is a multimedia artist and member of the Brush Tu Art Studio, known for his powerful woodcut prints and paintings. Born in 1993, Rop studied sociology and religion at Egerton University before turning his attention to art full-time.

Since joining Brush Tu in 2016, Rop has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the Kenya Art Fair in 2016 and 2017, the “Art to End Slavery” show at Kobo Trust, and the Danish Embassy Cultural Day in 2016 and 2017. In addition, he has also exhibited his work at Brush Tu’s open studios and in the “Untitled” show at Polka Dot Gallery.

Rop’s work is deeply inspired by his background in sociology and religion, and often touches on themes of social justice and human rights. His powerful prints and paintings are a testament to his dedication to using art as a means of expression and activism.

Lincoln Mwangi received his education in drawing and painting at the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts, Nairobi. He continues to live and work in the city as a member of the Brush Tu Artist Collective. Mwangi draws inspiration from daily reality for his figurative paintings and portraits, exploring themes such as identity, our relationship to nature, and human emotions. He frequently employs the use of anonymous figures and symbols like animals and objects to represent the collective human experience. Mwangi's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including. He has exhibited his work widely including at Lamu Space Station, Lamu Island in 2022, Facing the Sun at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, in the Schloss Görne Gallery in Germany in 2021, and in I have a Dream at the AKKA Project in Venice. His first solo show, A Book Of Life Time And Feelings, was exhibited in Nairobi at Gravitart in 2021. Mwangi was the Winner of the Manjano Exhibition in the student’s category 2017.

Stoneface Bombaa (Brian Otieno Akoth) is a community organizer, artist and activist at Kairos Futura, where he has worked on two exhibitions in Kenya, one in Lamu in 2021 and in Nairobi in 2023. His project around community based forest rituals was featured in the New York Times, CNN and other publications.

Stoneface is also a community organizer at the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), where he runs the MSJC Kids' Club and Art for Social Change. He is also a member of the Mathare Green Movement, a volunteer group that, through planting trees throughout the informal settlement, practices collective imagination and action. Stoneface's mission is to help young people in Mathare understand the systemic nature of the everyday violence that shapes their lives. In 2020, along with journalist April Zhu, he created and voiced "Until Everyone Is Free," a podcast on the life and work of socialist freedom fighter Pio Gama Pinto. The podcast was featured on VICE, Xinhua, Paukwa, Daraja Press, Awaaz Magazine; Stoneface has since been invited to speak at the Georgetown University Doyle Seminar, Africa Podfest, The Museum of British Colonialism, BookBunk, and Baraza Media Lab. His writing on police killings has also been published in The Elephant, an independent Kenyan publication.

Coltrane is the Director of Design at Kairos Futura. His work explores reimagining the present through poetic visual stories and community engagement. Coltrane graduated Cum Laude from the Social Design course at the Design Academy Eindhoven 2020. He was featured in the Design Indaba Antenna Best Design Graduates of 2020 and a nominee of the STARTS prize in the same year. He has shown work in exhibitions in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and at Milan Design Week. He has since worked for both Herzog & de Meuron and Atelier luma.

Willie is Director of Science and Ecology at Kairos Futura where he leads the Nature Immersion Program with Stoneface Bombaa.

Willy Ng'ang'a is also a Kenyan scientist, environmentalist, and hiker. He holds a Biomedical Science degree from Egerton University and has received additional training in Statistics, Ecosystem Restoration, and Green Entrepreneurship. Currently, Willy works as a research consultant with aspirations to focus on eco-conservation projects.

Willy's passion for environmentalism stems from his love for hiking and the realization of the ecological threat to our planet. He believes that science can be a powerful tool in the restoration and conservation effort, and his mission is to collaborate with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to address local ecological challenges. He believes that these challenges, although difficult, can be overcome through collective effort and the utilization of locally available resources. Willy's ultimate goal is to contribute to a better future for the planet and its inhabitants.