PurpleRyta in Nairobi: When Wine Becomes Art

Two events blending painting, culture, and wine tasting

Italian artist Rita Barbero, known as PurpleRyta, will be in Nairobi for two events dedicated to the encounter between art, wine, and Italian culture, bringing to Kenya a unique and strongly identity-driven artistic practice.

PurpleRyta lives and works in the Langhe region, with which she maintains a deep, everyday relationship. In close contact with the world of wine, she draws inspiration from it while also distancing herself from it, engaging in a continuous dialogue of love and contrast that becomes creative exchange and inner regeneration. Two imperatives have always guided her artistic research: simplifying reality and coloring the world—preferably purple.

Through her wine on paper works, PurpleRyta conveys core values of her practice: the belief that territory should be celebrated for the cultural richness it preserves. She emphasizes this through the hashtags #ilvinocontienecultura and #laculturacontienevino, underscoring how behind a glass of wine lies a heritage of history, traditions, and knowledge.

Her works are also deeply eco-sustainable: the wine is used in its pure form, without treatments, and the paper is natural, 100% cotton, acid-free.

The Nairobi Program

The first event will take place on Thursday, January 29, at Ikigai – Westlands, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with a wine-painting workshop. Two sessions are scheduled, each with approximately 18 participants, during which PurpleRyta will guide and challenge attendees as they explore this original painting technique. The workshop will be accompanied by a tasting of Italian wines.

On this occasion, the Italian Cultural Institute of Nairobi will officially launch its 2026 events program, which this year revolves around the theme:
“The Italian Experience: a cultural journey through the five senses.”

The second event will feature PurpleRyta on Friday, January 30, at Shamba Events, as part of the “Top Italian Wines Roadshow”, organized by Gambero Rosso for the third consecutive year in Kenya, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Nairobi and ICE – Italian Trade Agency.

Starting at 2:00 pm, the artist will present a live artistic performance lasting about one hour, creating a work that will take shape from a “stain” of wine. A selection of PurpleRyta’s artworks will also be exhibited during the event.

Two events celebrating Italian excellence through art, wine, and the senses, offering the public an immersive and original cultural experience.

Rassegna Stampa Purpleryta a Nairobi