Hello Art Lover 

In the heart of Lamu Old Town, just a coconut’s toss from the old fort and a short stroll from the jetty, you’ll find Jua Paa nestled among the winding alleys.

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This is no ordinary house. It has held decades of creativity. Sea air drifts through its rooms. You can almost hear the swoosh of a brush across canvas or a pencil sketching quietly as someone leans into their thoughts. Artists have come and gone, leaving behind colour, conversation and presence.

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Long before it became the studio and sanctuary of prolific painter Yony Waite, Jua Paa held other stories. But in Yony’s time, and through her artist workshops and exhibitions next door at Wildebeest Studios, the house opened even further. It is one of the oldest artist residencies in Kenya, a place where people created with their hands and rested their thoughts. Its walls remember.

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Though Yony has passed, the house remains in the care of someone who knew and loved her. A friend who understands that Jua Paa was never just a house. It was always a shelter for artists, a meeting place for ideas, an unusual and inspiring space for reflection.

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That spirit continues. There will be walk-throughts and exhibitions. There will be quiet work, shared meals and voices rising in conversation. Jua Paa will stay what it has always been. A home for creativity, for exchange, and for that curious spark that floats in with the Lamu breeze.

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You can read more on our Stories page, where we are gathering memories of Yony, glimpses of Lamu’s cultural life, and pieces of the house’s layered past.