To find the stories is the hard job which you are not sure if you will succeed. When you meet with some one you have to ask him in good communication if he knows the stories, If not you have to move to try to ask other people.

Every day at dawn I was walking by foot, some hours, looking for people who know the stories. To walk by foot for hours is hard if you want to work well, later I rented bicycle from my host so that I could be able to get in some places where I wanted to go for finding story tellers.

The culture of story-telling is dissappearing, so not many people knows the stories anymore. But on lucky day, you will find a story-teller, and then you will enjoy listening to amazing stories.

John Kilaka, 2009

John Kilaka tours the Western hemisphere and brings the African tales to us. With his captivating story-telling he is able to hypnotize hundreds of children for hours. But the traditional African tales are dying with old people and therefore John Kilaka crosses the African continent to collect and safe the tales. With his recorder he visits the most remote villages to capture the African knowledge which is fast disappearing.

The way from oral tradition to a book is long. Usually the tale is told in a tribal language, then translated to Kiswahili and then again to English and then maybe to other languages. John Kilaka also illustrates the tales with his distinctive Tinga Tinga style, sometimes called “Kilaka style”. His books have been often awarded, such as BolognaRaggazi Award. He was pronounced as one of the six best children writers and illustrators in Germany.

John Kilaka was also the main illustrator of the Tinga Tinga Tales commissioned by BBC and Walt Disney. The Penguin book “Tinga Tinga” contains many of his illustrations, yet he has not been attributed. Other books he has illustrated are Amazing Tree, Fresh Fish and True Friends. His paintings are also part of official FIFA art collection 2010.

The artwork of John Kilaka was included in the 2010 Fine Art Collection (www.2010fineart.com). The original art has been reproduced  in  210 limited edition fine art prints, signed by the artist and  offered for acquisition to discerning collectors and football fans from around the world.  These limited edition prints are Official Licensed Products of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM and you can order them at www.FIFA.com

For more information, visit John Kilaka´s website

John Kilaka has also illustrated the book Tinga Tinga by Penguin

Original Art of John Kilaka is available in SWITZERLAND

Baobab Children’s Book Fund

Originalwerke von John Kilaka

3 available paintings from John Kilaka in Tanzania

Right: KIL007 John Kilaka, 70x100cm, Title: Morning Gold, Medium: Enamel Oil on Canvas, the painting contains a Tale from Africa, Price: $1.600

Left: KIL006 John Kilaka, 70x100cm, Title: Luck in Effort (Bahati katika jitihada) , Medium: Enamel Oil on Canvas, the painting contains a Tale from Africa Price: $1.500

Left: KIL009 John Kilaka, 70x100cm, Title: On the bus stand, Medium: Enamel Oil on Canvas, Price: $1.550 SOLD

Right: KIL008 John Kilaka, 70x100cm, Medium: Enamel Oil on Canvas, Price: $1.300

Left: This painting was chosen for the McKinsey publication distributed at the Economic Forum Conference in South Africa. If you want to buy the painting write to info@afrum.com.

Right: This painting was painted for an exhibition in Denmark but John Kilaka missed the deadline and the painting remained with him. Write to me, I will send you the image in better quality!