Tuesday, 19 Mar 2024
Month: March 2012

Collin Sekajugo at TEDx Kampala 2012.

Turning Trash into Treasure

A city flooded with litter is great news for the creatives. Artists should look for waste materials in their immediate surroundings, take advantage of the built-in shapes, colours and textures of ordinary rubbish, and treat the piles of litter as a main source of inspiration. These were some of the messages delivered by some of Uganda’s finest artists at the first TEDx-conference hosted in Kampala.

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Artwork by Ivan Yakuze. (c) All rights reserved.

Olubugo Reloaded: The push towards a new awareness

The exhibition ‘Olubugo Reloaded’ at FAS FAS Gallery is important because it presents artworks based on the bark cloth material with a focus on what place it has in Uganda and within the contemporary arts of Uganda. Art lecturer in fibers and weaving, Lesli Robertson of the University of North Texas, continues to see that bark cloth is finding stronger ground every year and it is through the work of Ugandan artists and designers that this material continues to elevate its place within contemporary art.

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This photograph comes from the collection Andrea worked with before she started HIP. Together with the owner of the material, mr. Kaddu Wasswa, and his grandson Arthur C. Kisitu she made 'The Kaddu Wasswa Archive, a visual biography', a book and a traveling exhibition.

History In Progress: Ugandan photo opportunities

Uganda, the state, will be 50 years old on October 9. That is the history book record. However, a private photo collection that started life as a Facebook archive venture is challenging that version of events. Most times, unintentionally. By the simple act of dredging up visual records from 100 years ago of life in the area that is now geographically registered as Uganda, History in Progress Uganda (HIP) is forcing a re-think of what it means to be Ugandan and where Uganda come from.

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Ife Piankhi. Photo by Will Boase (willboase.com). All rights reserved.

Freeing the audience: Women in live music

At the beginning of February, an unusual concert was staged at the Goethe Institute in Kampala, headlined by Nneka, the world renowned young African icon. She was accompanied by five Ugandan female artists, including Ife Piankhi, a popular poet and jazz singer in town, and Tshila, a crossover Afro Soul icon. Serubiri Moses has talked to these two artists and Roshan Karmali about whether artists’ gender really matters.

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Artwork by Jacob Odama. (c) All rights reserved.

Different But One 16: A Story without End

“Different But One, for the last fifteen years, has provided artists a platform for visual artistic expressions that are increasingly dynamic and provocative. This annual event has also given artists the chance to continually keep their talent alive. This year’s Different But One had a visual exuberance to me which led me to compare it to the “jumping the broom” ceremony; a joyful entry into a new life together as artists—male and female, old and young, modern and figurative, abstract and narrative. We, the viewers, are participants of the renewed energy and commitment of Makerere Faculty’s vision and fine arts.” Maria Alawua reviews.

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Making beads. Photo by courtesy of www.ekisaakaate.org.

Ekisaakaate: Ganda culture holiday camp for kids

The Nabagereka of Buganda, Her Royal Highness Sylvia Nagginda, initiated Ekisaakaate – a children’s holiday camp – in 2007. The purpose of this camp was to nurture respect and appreciation for culture and heritage, which is especially important in today’s modern society. Children are trained in etiquette, craftsmanship, games, dance and home baking as part of Ganda culture. Nakisanze Segawa reflects on the effects of such cultural programs for Ugandan families.

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