Nzilani Simu
Nzilani Simu, Visual Artist
Nairobi| Kenya
Nzilani Simu is a visual artist born, raised and based in Nairobi, Kenya. She specialises in illustration, hand lettering, graphic design and is passionate about design for social impact - particularly when it comes to an African lens and projects focused on women's rights. Recently venturing into the area of graphic recording, Nzilani looks to uncover narratives through art.
She has a BA in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario with a focus on social inequality. Driven away by the bitter winter cold she left Canada the day her student visa expired - put on sandals at the airport and threw her winter boots into the trash. She later decided to follow her passion for art and got a BA in Graphic Design from Curtin University in Malaysia. The humidity was good to her but she happily returned to Nairobi to begin working in design. Since then she has gained experience working for a couple of creative agencies and as a freelancer.
In the last few years, she has been working on her art brand Kulula; Kulula comes from the Kikamba word meaning 'to draw' and is an outlet for more creative ideas and personal expression using illustration and mixed media. Under Kulula, Nzilani holds hand-lettering workshops - providing a space for art as self care. In addition to this, Nzilani works as a graphic design teacher in a Nairobi college, and occasionally moonlights in her dreams as an acoustic guitar musician.