OUR AWARDS: Youth Development NPO of the Year 2024/25 I Most Visionary Organisation 2024 - Innovation in Education Excellence I Most Innovative Learning Organisation 2020
ENTRIES & WINNERS
Enrties received: 2,000
Number of schools participated: 33
Countries participated: Kenya (58 locations), Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Seychelles
Number of prizes awarded: 43
Award Ceremony was attended by 300 people
Exhibitions:
- Early 21st Century Young African Artists I, Saatchi Gallery, UK
- Early 21st Century Young African Artists II, Anjarwalla & Khanna LLP, Kenya
- Afrikan Gallery and The Viewing Room, UK
- Doyle Wham Gallery, UK
Press: Citizen TV, The Star (Kenya), The Guardian (UK)
Prizes totalling 300,000 Ksh (£2,500) are supported by Rivers Foundation (UK), The Nobelity Project (USA) and Mabati Roling Mills (Kenya). Our special thanks to our judges.
SCHOOL CATEGORY
WINNERS
St. Andrew's International High School, Blantyre, Malawi,
teacher Tijana Randjelovic
Arya Girls and Boys Secondary School, Nairobi, Kenya,
teacher Miss Rahab
Anidan Art Centre, Lamu, Kenya,
leader Corrie Wingate
COMMENDED
Akiba School, Nairobi, Kenya,
teacher Arogo Dominic
Kiwanja Primary School-Special Unit, Nairobi, Kenya,
teacher Mrs Mwangi
Xtrem Art, Kampala, Uganda,
teacher George W. Santos Ssentongo
UNDER 15 CATEGORY
WINNERS
Mwangi Mwangi, 14, Crossroads, mixed
Ayaan Shariff, 10, Flow, mixed
Deng Arok, 13, Lukenya Academy IGCSE, Larissa, watercolour
Hariz Kalyar, 13, Mud Bath, acrylic
Elijah Waitenen, 9, Famous, print, Greenyard Junior School, creativity teacher Esther
Talia Khavele, 11, Elephant, acrylic, COGRI (Children of God Relief Institute), creativity teacher Sr Julia Mulvihill
Zeynep Avcioglu, 15, Silhouette, acrylic, Light Academy Primary School, creativity teacher Joseph Mburu Gatonye
Lisa Ndegwa, 4, Sailing , watercolour, Studio of Mary Muringi Auliria, creativity teacher Mary Muringi Auliria
Oprah Wambui, 9, Magical Fish, mixed, Taswira Art CLub, creativity teacher Sam Kimemia
UNDER 25 CATEGORY
WINNERS
Charles Waweru, 24, Inside Out, painting, mixed medium
Margaret Ngigi, 22, Caged, photograph
Linus Okok, 22, Asylum, dance/film
Kigera Njau, 21, Afro-futurism, collage
Eddy Ochieng, 26, Time and Chance, painting, oil medium
Nicole Saro, 22, Revolution, poem
COMMENDED
Achai Pieng Deng, 20, Malika, photo
Alpha Odhiambo, 21, The power of As, acrylic
Bebeto Ochieng, 24, Mangbetu King, graffiti
Eva Chemng'orem, 23, Irora, pencil
Isaac Mokua, 23, Joy and Fun in Art, film
Isaac Mungai, 15, Living Trauma, mixed
John Mutahi, 24, Rhino, digital
Joseph Makau, 24, Mirror of Deceit, acrylic
Lewis Maina, 24, Wealth and Wisdom, oil
Margaret Ngigi, 22,Njoki Wakwa, dance/film
Martin Langat, 21, Identity Crisis, digital
Morris Wamae, 21, Tears, charcoal
Muchira Muraguri, 25, Beheading of Judas, acrylic
Paul Kidero, 23, Color Queen, photo
Richao Liao, 18, Identity, pencil
Selina Onyando, 22, Lunch Time in Rongai, photo
Staice Shitanda, 22, African, photo
Taabu Munyoki, 22, Huduma Namba, mixed
Walter Osugo, 22, Cry of an Urchin, poem
Warembo Wasanii Initiative, fashion Installations, mixed
INNOVATIONS CATEGORY
John Gift, 22
Danielle Wijenje, 18
ART - under 25
%20JUDGES.%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2235ef0-620803ab%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Rugwiza Olivier, 18, Cry Your Eyes Out, ballpoint")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2242367-6208038c%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Lucy Mwangi, 22, The Lady, graffiti on illustration")
%20JUDGES%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%22229df-6208038d%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Pauline Muchigi, 21, Mombasa 1930, Adobe Photoshop")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2257050-62080379%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Melissa Joe, 19, Faces of Kenya, acrylic on a wall")
.jpg?etag=%22340be-62080390%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Haji Ibrahim, 19, LaFeing, digital")
%20,%20mixed%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%22b07f0-62080395%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "COMMENDED. Taabu Munyoki, 22, Huduma Namba, mixed")
.jpg?etag=%224eff1-62080397%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Denzel Githua, 22, Behind the Mask, digital")
.jpg?etag=%2234576-620803ae%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "WINNER. Eddy Ochieng, 26, Time and Chance, oil")
.png?etag=%2213438-62080386%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fpng&quality=85 "COMMENDED. Martin Langat, 21, Identity Crisis, digital")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2245779-620803b4%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Husna Ismail, 24, Love Birds, steel wire")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2232f4d-620803a2%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Gabriella Duke, 16, Selfie, etching")
SMALL.jpg?etag=%222c7fb-620803f9%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=2000,822&quality=85 "Chizi Katama, 24, Lupita, digital")
SMALL.JPEG?etag=%224d9f0-620803c8%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fpng&quality=85 "Kevin Macharia, 26, Choke in Smoke, digital")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2251bcc-62080392%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Kevin Macharia, 25, Color in the City, digital")
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%22284e6-620803a1%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Kevin Macharia, 25, Dying Breath, digital")
%20JUDGES%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%2275d0c-620803aa%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "COMMENDED. John Mutahi, 24, Rhino, digital")
POETRY
MASK Prize 2019 received 60 poems by 35 poets aged 15-25. The Judges shortlisted these three:
WINNER. Nicole Saro, 22
Revolution
All this while, I've known I was something special
With skills, talent and mad potential
I heard people are getting chances
To perform in front of audiences
I perform to a mirror and lonely walls
Or to empty seats in theatres and halls
It's making me sick that I have to wait
I've been at it since '01 to date
The lines just never shrink
I'm seriously about to sink
I'm tired of listening to the same old song
Of no, no, no, no; you're not King Kong
I've been told too often of how much I suck
I've heard it forever, only now it's stuck
I write good verses with killer punchlines
But people reap in my goddamned goldmines
I get nothing except disdain
I'm pushed to the dark and I can't complain
I can live to love another day
I won't let this gift burn away
COMMENDED. Walter Osugo, 22
Cry of an Urchin
I live in the streets,
with no permanent abode,
even the temporary never last a minute.
I live in a pigsty,
that carries the urban stench.
Whose child am I?
I eat from the bins,
the refuse from your kitchen.
Often I fall ill,
but no one cares.
To whom do I belong?
Was I born of a woman?
Did I overstay in the womb,
that I may suffer for the extra gestation?
Or did I bite your nipples,
that I may pay for their repair?
Was I fathered of a man?
Where the hell are you?
Why did you waste your energies,
fathering such a brat as I?
Chris Awuor, 21
Miseducation
i wish
my mother taught me
how to cry
because now
i
have 20 years
worth of water
frozen
in my veins.
one day,
the water will expand,
arteries will explode,
and i’ll die.
INNOVATION - under 25
%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%222dc0b-5d5d261f%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Virginia Wakianda, 25, Serenity, fashion design")
WINNER
Danielle Wijenje, 18, ideas:
A Home for Every Mind – space for enhancing brainpower of young people to stimulate their entrepreneurship.
A CubeSat (U-class) miniature satellites to increase wireless network.
ART - under 15
,%20Talia%20Khavele,%2011,%20Karen%20Nairobi%20-%20Elephant,%20acrylic%20SMALL.jpg?etag=%22322de-5d5d37bc%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "CHILDREN OF GOD RELIEF INSTITUTE, Talia Khavele 11, Elephant, recycled")
ART - schools
SMALL.JPEG?etag=%222eb4f-5d5e7399%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Arya School, Michael Upendo, 14, Malcom, dot matrix")
.jpg?etag=%2228f2a-5d727939%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fjpeg&quality=85 "Akiba School, Banice Makau, 17, Talents in the Slum, grafiti")
Anidan Center, group work, 12 y/o, Newspaper dresses, recycled material
MASK Awards ceremony & exhibition
The MASK Awards Ceremony & Exhibition was officially opened on 17 October 2019 at the Michael Joseph Art Center in Nairobi.
The event was inaugurated by Mr. Obiero Jarred, Regional Director of Education – Nairobi, who represented Dr. Kipsang, the Permanent Secretary for the Kenyan Ministry of Education, alongside Turk Pipking of the Nobelity Project, who traveled specially from Texas, USA and who has been a steadfast supporter of the MASK Awards, playing a crucial role in advancing the creative potential of the young artists and innovators of tomorrow.
The ceremony was graced by renowned Kenyan artist Geraldine Robarts and Africa's leading industrialists and philanthrop Dr. Manu Chandaria. The prizes were presented by the Director of Unilever's Heroes for Change, further reinforcing the MASK Awards's connection to producing creative new workforce. Hosted by Jeff Koinange, the award-winning broadcaster from Citizen TV, the event concluded with an uplifting musical performance by guest artist Mo Pears, leaving the audience energised and inspired.
As always, the evening was a vibrant celebration of talent, innovation, and camaraderie. The MASK Awards remains a powerful reminder of the transformative power of creativity in shaping the future and nurturing the next generation of change-makers.
SPONSORS
Registered UK charity No 1128734
Registered for Gift Aid with HMRC
MASK is a recipient of:
- Youth Development NPO of the Year 2024/25, Corporate LiveWire Global Awards, UK
- Most Visionary Learning Organisation 2024. Innovation in Education Excellence, Acquisition International Non- Profit Organisation Awards 2024, UK
- Top Website 2022, THEGOODESTATE Award, USA
- Most Innovative Learning Organisation 2020, SME News Greater London Award, UK
.png?etag=%225ca8-62080750%22&sourceContentType=image%2Fpng&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=121%2B54){kind=spacer}