Nine in 10 Kenyan creatives have used their work to address political and social issues, despite facing threats to their livelihoods, safety and freedom of expression, a new survey by Utetezi Arts & Insights has found.
The report, Creatives and Public Demonstrations: Participation, Risks, and Impact, released in June 2026, examined the experiences of 102 creatives following the June 2024 and June 2025 demonstrations.
According to the survey, 90 per cent of respondents said they had addressed political or social issues through their creative work. While 68 per cent participated in demonstrations, many others contributed through online campaigns, documentation, artistic productions, information amplification and other forms of support.
The report cautions against equating non-attendance at demonstrations with indifference, noting that many creatives cited safety, economic, professional and strategic concerns for not joining protests in person.
It also identified a generational shift in creative activism, with most respondents aged between 18 and 35. Younger artists were more likely to use digital platforms, visual storytelling, humour, performance and public expression to communicate political messages more directly and visibly than previous generations.
