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.”

Do you want to learn about the development of the Ugandan Visual Arts scene? In this article, Margaret Nagawa starts with the impact of Margaret Trowell and Cecil Todd, and gives a brief overview of some of the developments in the art scene all the way up to the recent KLA ART 012.

“The series in this collection are meant to inspire Ugandans and well-wishers to think about giving a woman the opportunity to attend to Uganda’s problems for at least five years come 2016 in order for Uganda to recuperate as well as inspire the upcoming artists to have a new approach to depicting women in their artwork so that we give the women the kind of dignity they most deserve.” Visual artist Fred Mutebi writes for startjournal.

In this article Angelo Kakande shows and argues that as representations of life in Kampala, Kyeyune’s paintings are not portraits of individuals or groups. They are in the first place art. In the second, they are sanitised versions of reality intended to suit middle class and tourist aesthetic tastes. In the third place, they carry the risks of pandering to state propaganda.

Could the above be the ingredients that can be injected into Kampala’s visual arts scene to spice it up? It cannot be denied that the art industry has grown over the past ten years, but where should it go from here? Startjournal.org caught up with a few renowned artists to discover what they believed were the elements necessary for Kampala’s visual arts scene to be the best it can be.

Almost twenty years ago, Fred Mutebi decided to take printmaking in Uganda to another level. Today, no printmaker carves out the lines with such a strength and importance as Mutebi does. In a unique way he captures stunning, evocative images of unpleasant day-to-day scenes. Start talks to Fred Mutebi about his passion for subject matter.

Fred Mutebi’s recent exhibition “Fred Mutebi: Woodcut collection since 2000” at Afriart Gallery was his first in Kampala in 10 years. The artwork displayed was a testament to the skill and creativity that he continues to develop as a printmaker, artist, and social activist. Lesli Robertson reviews some of the highlights.

Art and writing can play a crucial role in the process of psychosocial transformation. Written language has a big influence on all kinds of communication. Also, art has often been described as a universal language, which ability to communicate transcends age, race or colour, educational, religious, political or geographical background. FairPen Uganda Foundation explains how the kids can use to use the pen and the brush during elections.