Twelve student artists, one room, and an open invitation to reflect. Inside the ALU
Gallery’s mental health exhibition, and the leadership handover that closed the night.
What does it look like when a community decides to talk about mental health, not in a seminar
room, but through paint, poetry, and music? On Friday, 23 October, the ALU Gallery answered
that question with Fragments of Being, a student-led exhibition in the Kenya–Burundi Room
that turned a difficult, often-overlooked subject into something visitors could walk through, sit
with, and respond to.
The exhibition took its name and its spirit from a simple idea: mental health is not only the
absence of illness, but the presence of resilience, creativity, and the capacity to thrive. Its
guiding line set the tone for everything that followed.
“We are all fragments, shaped by every moment of joy, resilience, and
hope.”
Twelve Artists, One Shared Language
Twelve ALU student artists took part: eight exhibited visual work across painting, drawing, and
photography, and four performed spoken word, poetry, and music. Every piece answered the
same open call, to show how broken pieces can form a greater whole and how art can become a
space of empathy, connection, and hope. Walking through the room meant moving between
very different mediums telling strikingly similar stories of healing, identity, and quiet resilience.
A visitor pauses at one of the painted works on display.
A Space to Reflect, Not Just View
Doors opened at 2 PM for free viewing ahead of the evening program. Visitors didn’t just look:
they were invited to leave their own written or drawn response to the theme, turning the
exhibition into something collective. By the time the opening ceremony began, with its mix of
live music, poetry, and an artist Q&A, the room had become less of a gallery and more of a
conversation.
“Seeing people stop and recognize a piece of themselves in someone else’s story is really why
we needed a day like this. I also loved seeing everyone there making sketches. It meant
everyone played a role as part of the whole experience.”— Shalom Mageza, ALU Gallery Manager and exhibiting artist
Guests add their own written and drawn responses to the exhibition’s theme.
For many of the exhibiting artists, the day was also a personal milestone.
“The art gallery meant a lot to me as an artist. It was my first exhibition, and I was thrilled by
the number of people who showed up. It was the first time I got to showcase my work publicly,
and I am grateful for that opportunity. As a self-taught artist, I learned so much through the
gallery, including how to network and collaborate with other artists and how to price my
work. This platform has opened up new opportunities and new ways of thinking about my art.
I feel I have grown and developed as an artist because of it.”— Hope Mwende Musyoka, exhibiting artist
“The exhibition was like a dream coming true, though not yet at the point I want it to be.
Before it, I was always afraid to show my artworks, until I heard the good comments and
advice from the audience. I loved that the ALU Gallery team mixed in poems and songs,
because I believe they are connected to art. To me, an exhibition means taking private work
into a shared physical space.”— Icyizihiye Gloria, exhibiting artist
A New Chapter for the Gallery
The evening closed with a second milestone: the formal handover of ALU Gallery leadership
from its founding team to the incoming 2026/2027 team. It was a fitting end to the night, with
one chapter of the Gallery’s story closing just as a new one began, built on the same values of
honesty and student voice.
Members of the ALU Gallery team at the close of the evening.
Fragments of Being showed what a determined team of students can build when given the space
to tell the truth, creatively. For the ALU Gallery, it is a milestone worth celebrating, and only the
beginning of what comes next.
