SYLVIA
DELAP EXHIBITS AT
LAMU CULTURAL FESTIVAL
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Coastweek
- - Sailing
off the Lamu seafront.
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'MUTANU'
- HAPPINESS IN KIKAMBA:
NAMED BY PEOPLE OF KAYATA
Coastweek
- - Two
recent works by talented north coast artist Sylvia
Delap who is hosting an exhibition of Oil Paintings
entitled "Ancient Lamu In 2008" at the Lamu
Fort from 4.00 p.m. on Thursday, November 27th 2008.
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Sylvia
was born in Kenya to Alan and Jeanine (the
latter wrote under the pseudonym. Francoise
Arned) who met in Madagascar during World War
II.
Her
parents were well known for the creation of
the then legendary garden and coffee
plantation, Kayata (Donyo Sabuk), where
Hollywood made three movies - two Tarzan films
and Sean Connery's movie debut.
Alan
brought in Peter Greensmith, a naval Officer,
trained him at Kayata and then supplied all
the palms and tree seedlings Peter planted
along Nairobi's avenues.
Alan's
parents had come to Kenya in 1919 from
England. J.O.K.
Delap (family from Scotland in 16th century)
also built Nairobi's water system and Nairobi
Dam.
He
commissioned his friend Edwyn Lutyens (the
renowned English architect) to build a large
"folly" at Kayata complete with
swimming pool and open air bathroom on top of
a tower. |
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Coastweek
- - The
artist Sylvia Delap in Lamu with her Spanish
guitar. |
Alan's
mother was the famous Audrey Delap, later of Muthaiga.
President
Kibaki now lives in her old house.
Sylvia's
maternal grandfather was the grandson of the Marquis
De Bissy.
He
played a crucial role in Madagascan history when he
repatriated the queen's body from Algeria and buried
her at home, in the process averting a revolution.
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Sylvia
went to school and college in Nyeri and
Nairobi and lived at Kayata and Vasco da Gama
Point in Malindi with her two brothers.
She
was a founder of Nairobi 'Hootenanny' in 1968,
a highly successful traditional Folk group
which played to large public audiences and
privately for Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya at
Gatundu.
It
is still going strong 40 years on! Sylvia
has been a singer, guitarist, (Well Known for
her blind band the Mighty Sparrows in the
1980's),school teacher, actress (Nairobi and
London - stage, film and T.V., trained at
R,A.D.A. and in the company of Vanessa
Redgrave and Sir Michael, Hermione Baddeley,
Barbara Windsor, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Robert
de Niro and many classical musicians).
She started a
new Shakespeare theatre with Christopher
Plummer, John Neville, Sean |
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Coastweek
- - Swahili
children playing in front
of a traditional carved
wooden door. |
Connery
and Alan Bates), was a motorbike stunt rider and
diver,
astrologer, writer, photographer, riding teacher,
Arabian horse
and poodle breeder, landscape exotic gardener
... and, since
Kayata, an artist.
For
Sylvia, Lamu, where her mother once lived, is part of
a spiritual pilgrimage Kayata, the "Bush",
Malindi, convent, "Tyrringham", Sahara
Desert, eight hour meditations in Cheops Great
Pyramid, Findhorn, Madagascar, Memphis Tennessee, and
her own Magic Garden in Malindi where she lives now,
and hopes to write a book.
As
Sylvia puts it: "The
most inspiring thing in my life is my beautiful Kenya
which I want to show in my art. I love the
light!"
Sylvia
Delap can be contacted at:
scdelap@yahoo.co.uk
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