Monday, 18 Mar 2024
Tag: Edison Mugalu

Ugandan visual artist Edison Mugalu, at Umoja Art Gallery, Kampala, February 2013. Photo by Thomas Bjørnskau.

Talking happiness in love with Edison Mugalu

“This exhibition at Umoja Art Gallery in Kamwokya was Mugalu’s clear and heartfelt contribution to a day some people love to love and others love to hate: Valentine’s Day. The reason why some people love to hate the day is not hard to fathom. It’s the high expectations and demands that lovers place on each other which are rarely meant. … This is why Mugalu’s message was all the more relevant.” Elizabeth Namakula reviews.

Read More >>

From FasFas Art Café, Kampala, 2012.

Nudity? It is Artistic Expression and Free Speech (part III)

In this third and final part of a three-part essay, Angelo Kakende reviews the recent Nude 2012-exhibition at FasFas: “Nudes 2012 was different from Nude 2000, Nude 2001… It was mobilised with local resources and initiatives. This created the burden of the need to sell and recover costs. In my opinion, it is this economic incentive which affected the positions the artists took while. They treaded carefully avoiding the risk of offending anyone.”

Read More >>

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.

Read More >>

Edison Mugalu at the exhibition at AKA Gallery, February 2012.

Edison Mugalu’s art: The serendipity of success

“I have been following the trends in Uganda’s visual environment in the last decade, with keen interest and I have noted something rather distinct. While the events in art that made headlines in the period of economic recovery (1986-2000) were led by seasoned artists with predictable results, those in the last decade have been dominated by younger artists most of whom in the early stages of their careers. … Edison Mugalu typifies this cadre of younger artists who have taken to making art as their full time employment and many have made a success of it. Their work exhibit a bold and aggressive attitude which is also reflected in their marketing strategies.” Professor George Kyeyune reviews Mugalu’s work for startjournal.

Read More >>

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.

Read More >>

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.

Read More >>

Independence Monument by Gregory Maloba, 1962.

Shifts in Ugandan Art: From a rooted symbolism to philosophy as world-view

Contemporary visual artists in Uganda are not unified by pan-Africanism. They are far removed from pan-Africanist philosophers and their symbolism. Instead, artists like Wasswa Donald, Ismael Kateregga and Edison Mugalu seem to lure the viewer into a dreamscape where one is free to explore ideas of what world one is in.

Read More >>

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.

Read More >>

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.

Read More >>

Edison Mugalu paints from his home studio in Kireka

The Art of Self-making: An interview with Edison Mugalu

He has just finished the works for a new exhibition. This time he depicts the old walls, the street corners and narrow alleys of Zanzibar’s Stone Town. He is giving us an impression of the past days, and every brushstroke intends to teach us more about where we came from. Editor Thomas Bjørnskau talks to Edison Mugalu about his journey to become one of Uganda’s best-selling visual artists.

Read More >>
Donald Wasswa at Serena Art Exhibition 2010.

Donald Wasswa at Serena Art Exhibition 2010.

Corporate sponsorship of the arts: Friend or foe?

Art needs patronage. This could be provided by people of modest income who buy art on a regular basis to decorate their spaces and to use as gifts. These abound on the Ugandan art scene. But how useful are these art buyers to an industry that demands major capital injection for its growth?
In this article, Henry Mzili Mujunga questions the role of the corporate sponsors of Arts in Uganda.

Read More >>