The Art Of Music Foundation - Project

My journey with Ghetto Classics for the past five years has been awesome where I have learnt good life values like patience, and humility. I have learnt to play and love the violin and I am growing every day.

Gibson Wanyoike, student

I know that there are other people or children like me who do not have a voice, but I hope to teach them to speak through their music and spread the love of music to others.

David Otieno, violin teacher at Ghetto Classics

Established in 2007, Ghetto Classics is the flagship programme of the Art of Music Foundation. This community initiative involves over 500 children in Korogocho, one of Kenya’s biggest slums, plus many more in 10 satellite areas around Nairobi, Kiambu and Mombasa. Through the discipline of studying music, the children learn many life skills and are also given other income generating opportunities and social assistance, which in turn benefit their families and the community.

The Ghetto Classics Mombasa programme was established in 2016 with the aim of providing music education and performance opportunities to children from underprivileged backgrounds in and around Kenya’s second largest city. Since its inception, Ghetto Classics Mombasa has grown into a recognised institution in the region, offering mentorship and transformative experiences to its young musicians through equipping them with teamwork skills, self-discipline and a sense of purpose.

The requirement for quality instruction and access to instruments in Mombasa continues to grow, and a new BBT Community Grant of £45,000 over the next three years will fund the expansion of Ghetto Classics’ teaching faculty to directly benefit over 200 students by providing instructors specialising in brass, percussion, and lower strings; the acquisition of additional string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments; the establishment of a new training hub in Mombasa’s Khadijah neighbourhood; and the enhancement of online learning opportunities through a partnership with Bard College in New York state.

Previous investment through a BBT Community Grant in 2021 funded a professional training programme in collaboration with established musicians and teachers to further improve the standard and quantity of music lessons offered through the Ghetto Classics programme in Korogocho, as well as the development of performance opportunities and international relationships.

Photographs by Rich Allela