Mutua Matheka

Mutua Matheka Artist + Mango connoisseur. Available to shoot worldwide!! I am a Kenyan artist and architectural photographer, forged in Kenya and based in Nairobi.

My work explores African urbanity, identity, and the emotional landscapes of cities, using photography to move beyond documentation and into deeper cultural and psychological space. Trained as an architect, my practice is shaped by how the built environment reflects the people who inhabit it. I am particularly interested in the ways African cities hold memory, contradiction, improvisation, and pos

sibility. Through my work, I seek to visualize these urban spaces with complexity, tenderness, and agency. My ongoing long-term project, Unscrambling Africa, is a continent-wide exploration of African urban life, architecture, and culture. As part of the project, I traveled over 18,000 kilometers by road across nine Southern African countries, building an evolving visual archive that challenges singular narratives of Africa and expands how its cities are seen and understood. In 2024, I presented FRAGMNTS, an immersive exhibition exploring memory, compartmentalization, and contemporary African identity vis avi Nairobi, which attracted over 4,000 visitors and sparked significant public engagement. My work has also been featured by outlets such as CNN’s Great Big Story and developed through collaborations with brands and institutions including Kenya Airways, Samsung, Huawei, Land Rover, Glenfiddich, The British Council, Apple TV, and Infinix. Through photography, exhibitions, and long-term projects, I continue to explore how African cities can be re-imagined, documented, and experienced through a more layered and self-authored lens.

18/04/2026

Coffee + Whisky? Sign me up.
I went to .nbo for their version of a old fashioned on my Nairobi old fashioned tour. The coffee infused Monkey Shoulder was such a fresh twist. Would you try it?



Video -
Photo - Tapiwa

04/04/2026

ALERT 🚨 IS AT EBEE ON CHAKA ROAD!!
Also, Glenfiddich COCKTAILS ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE TILL 4pm.
COME THROUGH!!

02/04/2026

I’m excited to have a T-SHIRT BAR at the POP UP. Come get some customized ŨRITŨ only at the POP UP. It’s gonna be dope. Lots of new small small things that will make you giddy.
- 04.04.2026 - 12 TO 6PM

31/03/2026

This could be you chomping your face off on Saturday at my POP UP . Pull up for great vibes and music, shop some merch and prints and postcards and a new tee design dropping that day. Food and drinks will be flowing. Idk what more you want.
LAVA LATTE - 04.04.2026 - 12NOON TO 6PM
Come with your all your money.

27/03/2026

Took some much needed time in the lush countryside of Murang’a and that fresh crisp air, sounds of the river, lush tea fields was the perfect companion to the perfect dram.
Whether you’re a countryside or beach person, I hope you have the most restful weekend.

22/03/2026

At the a few days back, a question was asked to me - In the creative practice, work and identity are closely linked. So what does wellness even look like?

I’ve had to sit with a hard question:
Am I anything outside of being a creative?Because this thing isn’t just what I do — it’s how I see, how I exist. And with that comes a quiet fear…what happens if it leaves me? Who am I then?

I’m small small learning that I’m not just one thing. The father feeds the creative. The creative feeds the husband. The husband feeds the carer. Reducing myself to only one part is a disservice to the rest.

I also had to unlearn this:
when my work is rejected, it’s not me being rejected. That one took time.

What’s helped is having my day ones who have known me for long and see me beyond the work.
People who know me fully, not just the creative version of me. They help me find my way back when I feel jaded or off.

So I’m curious;
if your work is tied to who you are…
how do you take care of yourself when it takes a hit?

16/03/2026

It’s hard to even comprehend being paid when you don’t know where your value lies so today let’s talk about the value you could bring as a photographer to your clients.
This is never a comprehensive list but the way I see. If you have more value points, please share so we all learn.
As always, share your thoughts.

11/03/2026

The one about that time I was attacked by a rhino! STORY TIME alert.
Full video on my YouTube. Search Mutua Matheka.

04/03/2026

Some time last year I photographed for his album cover art. Here’s how it went down.
Executive producer •
Creative Director •
Photographer •
Stylist • x
director & dp •
Producer •
ass. producers •
ac 1 •
ac 2 • .ke
gaffer •
jib •
online edit •
offline edit • mua
bts • .wave
Prod Hse •
interns •

02/03/2026

Your client will likely not tell you about the money you’re saving them, but I will.
Let’s talk about usage rights and why a daily shooting fee isn’t all you should be charging as a commercial photographer.
Please note that this doesn’t necessarily apply to personal use photography and if the usage is more complex, the conversation has to be more complex too.
Also, please let me know what other creative money conversations you’d like to know about in a future video.

23/02/2026

Truth vs Aesthetics in the age of Ai. In this essay I will…..
Pls go watch the full video on my YT.

22/02/2026

For a long time, African cities have been photographed through extremes — either romanticized into postcards or reduced to hardship. I’ve learned that the truth sits somewhere in between, in the ordinary moments that don’t try to prove anything.

But there’s also a responsibility in showing what people don’t expect. That golden evening light across Nairobi’s skyline isn’t a fantasy, it’s real, and it challenges the narrow ways we often imagine this city. The beauty I try to capture, in this sense, becomes corrective rather than decorative.

So my approach sits in that tension: not romanticizing, but not withholding wonder either. I let this city be complex enough to hold its grit and its glow at the same time. It’s there if you look up once in a while.

Address

Prokraft Africa
Nairobi

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+254719250073

Website

https://business.facebook.com/invitation/?token=AfkJFJBKi1E0QjgMTNY-8VGuXtx5PvDO5n64wTlIX

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