Jim Chuchu is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans music, film, photography, and the visual arts. Chuchu's artistic journey is marked by the exploration of identity, culture, and the complexities of the African experience. In 2012, Chuchu co-founded The Nest Collective, serving as co-director until 2021. Concurrently, he co-founded HEVA in 2015, a fund investing in East Africa's creative economy, which has since invested more than $3 million in creative businesses. Chuchu's involvement with the International Inventories Programme (2018-2021) marked another transformative phase in his career. This project, exploring the presence of Kenyan cultural objects in global institutions, led to a deepening of his understanding of the historical injustices that form part of Kenya’s colonial history, and the ongoing systemic challenges faced by Black individuals globally. The project catalogued an inventory of more than 32,000 objects and engaged various publics on urgent debates about object movement and colonial history. His work on this project culminated in his selection as a TED Fellow in 2021, where he delivered the talk: Why are stolen African artefacts still in Western museums? Chuchu's current projects reflect his continued exploration of diverse mediums and themes. He currently serves as Creative Director for African in the Anthropocene, a multimedia project examining how communities across Africa experience and respond to climate change. He is also co-producing Fight for Food, a documentary exploring food production in Kenya, while developing new experimental design work and his second feature film project.
When the Empire Gets Weary The Objects May Return