Tuesday, 19 Mar 2024
Tag: Collin Sekajugo

Collin Sekajugo's Secolliville Project in Kampala 2013.

Secolliville: An imaginary city in the public space

Secolliville is an imaginary city created by artist Collin Sekajugo and is much inspired by the philosophy of Albert Einstein—“Imagination is better than knowledge”. Backed with the motto “Where things are as they could be” the artist is the performer in this city—the public space—where he’s conveying a particular message depending on the theme he has chosen for the morning. His performances are interactive, intelligent and creative.

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From the art exhibition "Aftermath of Ugandan Art after 50 years" at Fairway Hotel, Kampala, December 2012.

When group exhibitions fall short on competence and innovation

Many artists will gush at the opportunity of participating in a group exhibition, especially when it is held in a non-traditional art space like a hotel or an open space. The excitement comes from the fact that they are going to make a good killing with their art. Unfortunately, many times the artists compromise a lot on quality—often the work is not good enough—and as such it affects the whole idea of creativity, competence and innovation.

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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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Vipaji Arena at Weaver Bird Arts Community. Photo by courtesy of Collin Sekajugo.

Creativity, innovation and experimentation sets a new pace for the Ugandan visual arts

“With a host of art spaces and projects springing up, all designed to foster creativity, innovation and experimentation of the arts, and extending art to the local people, art in Uganda is evolving in a new direction.” Dominic Muwanguzi has visited Weaver Bird Arts Community, Fasfas Art Café, 32° East and more new art venues.

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Taking art back to communities: The Mabarti Street Art project

The project of taking art to the street that Sadolin is spearheading will give artists and their ‘new audience’ the opportunity to dialogue. The artists will cast their nets beyond the gallery visitors to include local audiences. They will understand each other better and gradually develop images that match their expectations. Mabarti art project has confirmed to the Kampala dwellers and visitors that there is a community of artists in Uganda actively and devotedly practicing art and that these artists would like to reach out to them.

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Can you really find your favourite Ugandan visual artists online?

Eight out of ten Ugandan visual artists publish information about themselves and/or their work online. Facebook is currently the most popular way of maintaining ones online identity, but the full-time artists and the experienced artists maintain a wider range of websites, and seem to benefit from that. Startjournal.org has conducted a survey about artists’ first experiences being online.

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David Oduki at ‘Let Us Share Beauty’: “Adapt exhibitions to global trends”

David Oduki, the co-founder of Royal African Foundation, attended the opening of the exhibition “Let Us Share Beauty” in Utrecht, the Netherlands. “Local galleries in Uganda should be aware of global trends and adapt exhibitions to those trends. They also should promote the likes of Collin Sekajugo and explain their recycling message to the local public,” David Oduki tells Startjournal.

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Group studios in Uganda: The Challenges of a Collective

In 2007, when Start Magazine covered the story of Mona Studio, there was an air of great expectations for the cause of young artists working together. It was a case of two charismatic artists slowly but surely etching their way into an indifferent community in Kamwokya, a suburb of Kampala city. Edison Mugalu and Anwar Nakibinge were forging an art collective to make an impact on the local community. And they almost pulled it off, but for the ignorance of one major factor at play in any alliance; the divergence of vested interests.

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Beyond the Controversy

Testament to the strength and innovation of Uganda’s artistic community, the Controversial Art Exhibition at Kampala’s Afriart Gallery sought to challenge traditional perceptions of African art. Henry Mzili Mujunga’s catalogue text, Finding the Controversy, offers an insight into the premises of this exhibition. Here he boldly exclaims that the work of “the true heroes of Ugandan art” could be found in this small, yet adventurous display. And he was right.

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Making an Artists’ Village work: Nesting for the next, big thing

The Weaver Bird Artist’s Village in Masaka is an attempt to develop a momentous centre for contemporary visual arts in Uganda. The founders believe bringing together artists’ workshops and residencies, community arts centre, handicraft projects, youth cultural troupes and children’s library will make the village tick. Encounter the ideas and discuss their future in this article.

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