Celebrated American artiste Beyoncé Knowles showcased more love for Kenya by picking out photographer Mutua Matheka's work and promoting him through her official website.
The multiple Grammy-Award singer posted Matheka's work under her new Black Parade column, classified under "Directory of Black Owned Businesses".
This comes a month after she also promoted 24-year-old Kenyan designer, Theresia Kyalo.
"I just found myself on Beyoncé’s website (actually someone sent me a screengrab on Instagram). I am shaken up. Please buy my work before I am untouchable," Matheka tweeted on Sunday, August 2.
He received a lot of plaudits from the post which generated over 7,000 likes.
Matheka describes himself as a travel and architectural photographer and a Ford Foundation Fellow, forged in Kenya and based in Nairobi.
"I see myself as an artist using photography as a medium to see the world and convey my thoughts. My mom says she placed crayons in my hands when I was 3 (I believe her). Since then I drew, painted, did sculpture and now I photograph," he says of himself on his official website.
The artist did his first showcase of Nairobi city in 2012 produced by David Blackman and in conjunction with the UN-Habitat. Named ‘I’m A City Changer’, the campaign encouraged city dwellers around the world to (at least for a day) focus on what they love about their city. People in over 15 cities participated.
He has also worked with Kenya Airways, Huawei, Samsung and Chase Bank among other brands seeking to use imagery to create a narrative around a product, service or idea.
CNN once featured his story as he set out on a mission to show a new view of African cities through photography.
Matheka is also one of the founding members of 'One Touch’, a collective of visual storytellers in Nairobi who share the common goal of increasing the narrative and awareness of Kenya and other African countries to African’s first then the world.
