Betty Press
Dinka Cattle Camp, 1990
Archival Pigment Print
45.72 x 60.96 cm (18 x 24 in)
Sold - Kshs 50 000
Betty Press
Colour Our World
Mixed Media, Archival and Silver Gelatin Prints
- Opens 27 June '26
Colour Our World
Betty Press, one of our longtime associate artists, is now showing her light infused photographs. Well known for her African black and white work, this show highlights her more recent colour work. Take a walk with her through Mathare, Dandora and Kayole and admire the creative signage and artwork of small shops that spice up the otherwise drab urban environment of the informal settlements. Explore the narrative of her slide based storyboards. And enjoy the richness of her photo based collaborations with Hungarian born painter Andrea Kostyal, where the photographs are splashed with paint and markings.
Press has spent many years in Kenya, since coming to work here as in photojournalist in 1987. In 2011 she published an award-winning photobook I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom in Image and Proverb which portrayed a life-affirming portrait of the African people and culture.
In 2003 she moved to Mississippi. To learn more about her new home she started taking road trips across the state documenting the Southern black and white experience using black & white film resulting in Finding Mississippi.
Press has been honored with many awards, including two visual Artist Fellowship Grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a statewide award in photography, and twice in the top 50 of Critical Mass Photo Lucida. In 2025 she was one of 12 artists selected for the Mississippi Invitational, Mississippi Museum of Art. Her work is widely exhibited and is part of many private and public collections.
Since 2019 she has been returning to Kenya documenting urban culture and social justice in the informal settlements of Nairobi. 'THEY WERE US: Stories of Victims and Survivors of Police Brutality in Kenya’, tells the stories of the families affected by excessive police violence in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Her latest project, on a more positive note, is 'Storefronts in Kenya and Mississippi' which pays tribute to small businesses everywhere.
Betty Press, one of our longtime associate artists, is now showing her light infused photographs. Well known for her African black and white work, this show highlights her more recent colour work. Take a walk with her through Mathare, Dandora and Kayole and admire the creative signage and artwork of small shops that spice up the otherwise drab urban environment of the informal settlements. Explore the narrative of her slide based storyboards. And enjoy the richness of her photo based collaborations with Hungarian born painter Andrea Kostyal, where the photographs are splashed with paint and markings.
Press has spent many years in Kenya, since coming to work here as in photojournalist in 1987. In 2011 she published an award-winning photobook I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom in Image and Proverb which portrayed a life-affirming portrait of the African people and culture.
In 2003 she moved to Mississippi. To learn more about her new home she started taking road trips across the state documenting the Southern black and white experience using black & white film resulting in Finding Mississippi.
Press has been honored with many awards, including two visual Artist Fellowship Grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a statewide award in photography, and twice in the top 50 of Critical Mass Photo Lucida. In 2025 she was one of 12 artists selected for the Mississippi Invitational, Mississippi Museum of Art. Her work is widely exhibited and is part of many private and public collections.
Since 2019 she has been returning to Kenya documenting urban culture and social justice in the informal settlements of Nairobi. 'THEY WERE US: Stories of Victims and Survivors of Police Brutality in Kenya’, tells the stories of the families affected by excessive police violence in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Her latest project, on a more positive note, is 'Storefronts in Kenya and Mississippi' which pays tribute to small businesses everywhere.
Achival Pigment Prints, 35.56 x 45.72 cm (14 x 18 in) - Kshs 25 000
Silent Pub, 2025 - Archival Pigment Print - 45.72 x 35.56 cm - Kshs 25 000
Achival Pigment Prints, 40.64 x 50.80 cm (16 x 20 in) - Kshs 35 000
Mixed Media on Board or Canvas - Collaborative Works with Andrea Kostyal - 30.48 x 30.48 cm (12 x 12 in), - USD 695
Archival Pigment Prints and Silver Gelatin Prints, 45.72 x 60.96 cm (18 x 24 in )- Kshs 50 000
Nuer Cattle Camp, South Sudan, Kenya, 1991 - Archival Pigment Print - 45.72 x 60.96 cm (18 x 24 in) - Kshs 50 000
Maasai Dancers, Northern Kenya, 199o - Silver Gelatin Print - 45.72 x 60.96 cm (18 x 24 in) - Kshs 50 000
Clothes Line, Lamu, Kenya, 2019 - Archival Pigment Print - 45.72 x 60.96 cm (18 x 24 in) - Kshs 50 000
Story Board, Grid of Transparencies, unmatted 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in) - Kshs 55 000
Maasai Ceremonies, Kenya - Archival Pigment Print - 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in ) - Kshs 55 000
African Independent Churches, Kenya - Archival Pigment Print - 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in ) - Kshs 55 000
People of Mali - Archival Pigment Print - 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in ) - Kshs 55 000
A Day in the Life of Somali Refugees, Kenya - Archival Pigment Print - 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in ) - Kshs 55 000
Dinka Cattle Camp, Southern Sudan - Archival Pigment Print - 43.18 x 55.88 cm (17 x 22 in ) - Kshs 55 000