RIziki Kateya

Sanaa Art Gallery

Riziki Kateya

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1

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“Every detail, down to the minute hairs on a stem or the veins on a leaf, must be accurate. If I make a mistake, or the wind blows and the flower moves, I can’t paint over it; I have to abandon the painting and start over.”

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6

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Medium: Offset Lithography signed and numbered by the artist, original water color on paper
Commissioned original owned by Gibb’s Farm Saana Gallery, see below for additional work.
Size: 20 x 30 cm
Price: $500 each print 1 ~ 6

There are eight gardens at Gibb’s Farm. The first seeds were planted nearly 45 years go. Over 300 specimens exist. See the Gibb’s Farm
Garden Art webpage.

here are many plants that are endemic to Tanzania,
and for the first time we have a Tanzanian artist with the skill to illustrate them and help to preserve this precious heritage.

Riziki Kateya, 25, is Maasai by origin, from the Ngaramtoni Arusha Area. She studied art at the Bagamoyo School of Arts. During her studies botanist Colin Watkins came to the school with the task of granting one student a scholarship to study in London. It was Riziki who was chosen to study at Kew Gardens in the Botanical Illustration Department. She trained under Christabel King, outstanding artist and teacher.

“Riziki worked hard to achieve the necessary attention to detail and to master the techniques. She has great potential,” said King.

Riziki’s work is not only for the art lover’s eye. Scientists use botanical drawings for identification and research, and Riziki could well be responsible for identifying one or more unknown plant species in Tanzania’s largely unexplored coastal forest regions and the Eastern Arc mountains - two of the world’s botanical “hotspots”, where there is known to be an abundance of endemic plant species.

The work of a botanical artist is extremely meticulous. The slightest deviation in detail could result in plants being wrongly identified, and Riziki often takes 2 weeks to a month to complete one painting.

Riziki has held exhibitions in London, at Kew Gardens and the National History Museum; and at Mawazo Gallery in Dar es Salaam.

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6

Nine commissioned pieces along with the originals of the above work by Miss Kateya reside in the private collection of the Sanaa Gallery at Gibb’s Farm:

Phyto Medicine specimens used by Osero Forest Clinic found on the estate are in the process of documentation by Riziki. The collection numbers seven at this time.