The Italian Cultural Institute of Nairobi presents I Filosofi, an exhibition by Italian artist Hilario Isola, featuring a gallery of faces and figures from the history of philosophical thought.
The series stems from a reflection on the concept of the individual. The philosophers are represented through tiny sculptures created on the heads of nails, figures reduced almost to the limits of visual perception. Individual and, at the same time, universal, they come together in the exhibition space to create a kind of “impossible symposium”: a gallery without paintings, made up of almost invisible presences that evoke thoughts, stories and questions.
For the special occasion of the exhibition in Kenya, Hilario Isola has also created a new work dedicated to Mĩcere Mũgo, the Kenyan writer, poet, playwright and scholar, and an important figure in the country’s cultural and intellectual history. The new work enters into dialogue with the original series, creating a direct connection between the artist’s research and the Kenyan cultural context.
The exhibition will open on Friday 9 October at 6:00 pm with a special evening attended by the artist. The opening event is by registration only and will be accompanied by light bites and refreshments.
The exhibition will then be open to the public from 10 to 18 October, daily from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Venue: Shan House, Visit Ngara, Nairobi
Opening: 9 October 2026, 6:00 pm – by registration at this link
Public opening: 10–18 October 2026, 12:00 pm–5:00 pm