The Mount Kenya University on Saturday launched the Churchill Institute of Performing Arts to promote the creative industry in the country.
Named after renowned entertainer Daniel Ndambuki alias Churchill, the school will be domiciled at the Mwai Kibaki Convention Centre.
Speaking at the launch, MKU Chairman Simon Gicharu attributed the move to immortalise Churchill to his contribution to the growth of Kenya’s entertainment industry.
The funny man is the founder of the Churchill Show that recently found a new home at TV47, a television station associated with the MKU tycoon.
The stand-up comedy show previously aired on Nation Media Group’s NTV.
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“The MKU Institute of Performing and Creative Arts is nationally known as a wellspring of youth talent, having won the Kenya National Drama Festival title in 2015 and impressive performances in all consecutive years,” Gicharu said during the launch.
“Our students have in the past auditioned and appeared in the ‘Churchill Show’.”
According to the businessman, the MKU-Churchill Institute of Performing and Creative Arts is modeled on the Oxford University Dramatic Society.
Founded by Alec MacKinnon in 1885, Oxford University Dramatic Society has produced many of the famous faces in the films and theatres such as Rowan Rowan Atkinson, popularly known as “Mr. Bean”, and Hugh Grant whose movies have grossed more than US$ 3 billion around the globe.
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He said the institution seeks to empower many youths with untapped talents in performance and creative arts.
“We aim to reactivate and rejuvenate their talents through this Churchill Institute of Performing Arts,” he added.
The institution, Gicharu noted, aims to nurture talent-based education whereby the university will issue scholarships to those who exhibit potential for excellence.
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“The scholarships will be similar to the sports scholarships offered by universities in the U.S,” he noted.
“We hope to export talent to Hollywood (California), Nollywood (Nigeria), Bollywood (India), Apollo Theatre (USA) and other foundries of creative arts talent in the world.”
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