When Kenyan artist Ken Nyambura hurriedly packed his rolled-up canvases into a suitcase, he had no idea what would come next. He only knew he had to flee his country. Due to continuous death threats, the artist, 29, left behind his wife, two young sons, his parents and community to seek asylum in the United States.

Call it coincidence or just another example of the heart of Vashon, but after landing earlier this year in Tacoma with no idea of how or where to show his art, Nyambura’s is currently showing and selling his work at Giraffe. Later this summer, Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) will hold a special sale and exhibit his artwork in the gallery in 2017.

Nyambura’s path to Vashon began with a chance encounter in Burien with Don Erue — brother of island artist David Erue — who told Nyambura about the Art Studio Tour. That conversation led Nyambura to call designer and Studio Tour Manager Sy Novak.

“When he called to talk about the tour, he told me he had asylum in the U.S.,” Novak said. “I believe we all have a responsibility to help others when we can, and one of the things I do best is make connections between people. My feeling was that if I couldn’t directly help him, I could certainly give him a ferry-load of contacts.”

Priscilla Schleigh of Giraffe was one of those contacts. When she heard about Nyambura, she took the day off from work to meet him in Tacoma and see his art.

“His compelling art depicting the crowded slums in Kenya and the wildlife really spoke to me,” she said. “And I love his story — how he’s been vocal about the situation in Kenya.”

Nyambura has exhibited internationally in France, Denmark, Germany and Italy. He was awarded the 2014 Kiambura Governors Award for Art and represented the Kenyan government internationally as an artist from 2012 to 2015.

“But in February 2016, after the government was toppled, people who were standing up for social justice were ‘disappearing.’ My parents believed that I, too, would ‘disappear’ if I did not leave Kenya,” he said.

Nyambura was working to prevent the recruitment of youth by gangs. Since he “interrupted their activity,” he received death threats.

His wife arrived last month, and the couple hopes to bring their sons here soon.

“I am working hard to rebuild my life and art and to continue to work toward my dream of social justice for the people in my home country,” Nyambura said.