In Conversation with Theresia Kyalo

"My work is always an attempt to translate feeling into form - to hold space for the intersections of art, anthropology, sociology, material culture and lived experience. It’s where research meets intuition, and storytelling becomes a way of remembering."

Meet Theresia Kyalo (TK) a multidisciplinary artist and designer whose practice moves fluidly between jewelry, film, performance, and visual art. If you are familiar with those at the helm of African jewelry-making, then you will have come across Kyalo's striking and unforgettable adornments. We spoke to Kyalo ahead of the 'Mgeni Experience' which featured the screening of the short film 'Mgeni' - directed by Natasha Ayoo - and physical exhibition at The Living Rooms, Nairobi. In Kyalo's words, "Mgeni is an exploration of what it means to belong — to land, to memory, and to each other. It’s about the silent negotiations that happen when we welcome or become the visitor." From the moment you stepped into the space, you automatically were a mgeni (translated to 'visitor' in Swahili) welcomed into a thoughtfully curated space.

The film, based on an age-old shairi ('Swahili poem') is an ethnographical journey into what it means to welcome a guest into your home, the traditions of hospitality, nuances of culture and forms of exchange within the private sphere. Repeatedly recited throughout "Mgeni kumpokea, kumbe ni kujitongea" loosely translating to "To welcome a visitor, might land you in trouble.” - served as a sobering reminder of the visible and invisible dynamics often at play within these boundaries.

Soundtracked by Nabalayo, you are immersed in a traditional Kenyan home setting adorned with beautiful brass pieces that sparkled like gold and wooden ornaments steeped in rich culture. The mgeni ('visitor') played by Brian Nyachae, took us on a journey that some of the audience may resonate with. The feelings of nostalgia and (re)connection that come with seeing an old friend quickly turned sour, and thoughts of consequences, regret and loss hung heavy in the air. The same guest who you welcomed with open arms is the same one that betrays you.

The Mgeni Experience leaves much on your mind but accurately reflects Kyalo's work that is rooted in research and experimentation. How many times have you been welcomed and not honoured the sacredness of that gift? Or how can we better protect ourselves and those around us? Or even further, is loss (good and bad) a hidden cost to human interaction? Her work explores form, material, and the many ways we experience belonging. Drawing from her background in law and her interests in sociology, anthropology & material culture, Kyalo engages art as a space for dialogue — between the body and object, the personal and collective, the seen and the felt.

Through TK, she expands this conversation — using design and material culture to question how we adorn, perform, and archive identity. Each piece or project is a study in connection: between craft and concept, heritage and modernity, the individual and their environment. Whether through a film like Mgeni or the sculptural language of her jewelry, Kyalo’s work resists boundaries — instead choosing to live in the in-between, where creativity is both process and practice, research and ritual.