“Having attended the same university and only separated by a handful of years; having exhibited in nearly the same galleries and influenced by the same patronage system, this pair comes across as archetypal artistic bedfellows. They seem to have suckled from the same breast of contemporary art awareness and their styles are scarcely singular.” Nathan Kiwere reviews Daudimzili for Startjournal.
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Year: 2012
Adong Judith Lucy is an artist that stands tall in the rain and tells it like it is. Her recently concluded production, Silent Voices was presented at the National Theatre in Kampala to full houses for most of the twelve showings. Samuel Lutaaya interviews her for Startjournal.
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Is good art the art that sells the most? What about madness? Is it an ingredient of great art? How about art donors? These ideas all made up the WAZO Talking Arts edition of July, led by a paper on the subject of Immoral Courage by Henry Mzili Mujunga.
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The architecture of a place is a mirror to the political power structures of such place. Through its architecture a political regime defines itself vis-à-vis its citizens; it communicates its ideology to them in public space. So, if we assess the architectural philosophy of our political regime, it provides an additional perspective to our knowledge about the state of democracy in Uganda. Faisal Kiwewa writes for Startjournal.org.
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The Bayimba International Festival of the Arts will be running from 21-23 September 2012, and this year’s theme will be celebrating 5 years of artistic inspiration. Na!ra, Jackie Akello and Hailee are some of the artists performing live on stage.
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“My suspicion is that we in Ugandan arts are chasing air. Are we producing art? There are financing mechanisms, gallery systems, dependence on expatriate markets, and educational systems that hold us back. But these are also precisely the challenges that should offend us enough to try and overcome them. We have had social turmoil for decades, through the 1970s, 1980s to the present. Are we using our talents to create entertainment rather than taking society to task?” Read David Kaiza’s essay presented at the first WAZO Talking Arts meeting in Kampala.
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Is it Art or Wolokoso? was the theme of Ronex’s art exhibition of 10 Years, questioning a fundamental theory that Ugandans do not “get” art. By the end of the four staged exhibits in four galleries, each two weeks apart, several of the showgoers agreed gleefully that what they had experienced was indeed, art. Serubiri Moses reviews for Startjournal.
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Joachim Buwembo claims that he wrote The Ugandan Paradox to be able take part in the bonanza of cash squandering sure to ensue as government heads the celebrations of Uganda marking 50 years of Independence. In this book review, Iwaya Mataachi concludes that “The Ugandan Paradox is about a Uganda in decay, with a hero scarcity. All the people Joachim Buwembo meets know something is going wrong, and Buwembo himself understands this more than others.”
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Perhaps one day Ugandan artists and citizens will honor Maloba and his vision by reappropriating Independence Monument from its current appropriation, even theft, by the NRM as a rallying place for reflection on the 50 years of betrayals of the original promise of independence. Armed with the social media that Ugandan artists utilize so effectively, they may give birth to a new generation of promise to transform Uganda. What will their monuments, the monuments for the next 50 years of independence, look like?
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For poetry lovers and those who wish to improve in both their writings and performances, African Writers Trust provided an opportunity to interact with one of Africa’s leading poets. The Ghanian poet Nii Ayikwei Parkes visited Uganda and shared his knowledge with the locals.
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What happens when over 200 artists, painters, dancers, musicians, sculptors, fashion designers, and photographers come together in what has become a yearly festival of art? Throw in the angle of celebrating Uganda’s 50 years of independence and what do you have? A blazing hub of activity, color competition for the eyes, music for the ears, perplexity and appreciation for the mind, and inspiration for the heart.
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Chris Mugarura is a Ugandan comics artist, striving hard to enrich the comics industry and trying to change people’s stereotypical perceptions towards comics. He believes he can do this through his masterful comics skills and compilations.
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Summoning the Rains is a collection of short stories by ethnically diverse African women, published by Femrite after their 3rd Writers’ Residency. In this review, Serubiri Moses wishes to explore the representations of women and young girls in the book and relate these images to social and political paradigms, both current and past.
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Can a writer earn a living in Uganda? Who is a writer anyway? Does a journalist qualify as a writer? Iwaya Mataachi has interviewed Ugandan writers Beverley Nambozo, Jackee Batanda, Akiyo Michael Kasaija, Joachim Buwembo, and Beatrice Lamwaka to find out.
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The Acoustics Sessions at MishMash, a monthly night that began running in January of this year, showcases undiscovered musicians who, despite having technical and musical proficiency in music, are not confident enough to stand up for it. Serubiri Moses reviews the music event and goes behind the scenes to talk to its curators.
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Art festivals like the recent LaBa! Street Art Festival give visitors a chance to get away from the struggle of life and indulge in something more pleasant; arts and entertainment. Kudos to the many who involves themselves by bringing wares to the tables and performances to the tents, but where does the street that hosts an art festival lead us, asks Samuel Lutaaya.
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Ugandan visual artists want to help the slum-dwelling communities of Kampala to express their views artistically. Through creative media like painting, sculpture and printmaking the artists hope to start a dialogue on issues that affect the communities. Nathan Kiwere of the Uganda Visual Artists Association explains the slum art project.
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This year Uganda will celebrate its golden jubilee, and what better way to celebrate such a milestone other than with art! On June 9, Mackinnon road Nakasero will be ready for the sixth LaBa! Street Art Festival, once again organized by Goethe-Zentrum Kampala (GZK) / Ugandan German Cultural Society together with Ugandan artists.
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“Africa produces the best music in the world, but getting the music to the global level is still a big problem.” This viewpoint was given by Ruth Daniel, a co-founder of the global grassroots and creative community Un-Convention, at a press conference in Jinja. The press conference was organized by the Bayimba Cultural Foundation; launching the annual Bayimba Festival and DOADOA, the East African performing arts market at the Bax Conference Center.
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Rap music in Uganda can be traced back to the late 80s when Philly Bongole Lutaaya (RIP) performed his Nakazaana. During the last two decades numerous hip-hop artists have emerged on the scene, introducing new styles and coining genres like Lwaali, Luga-flow, and Uga-flow. Also, mainstream media has fallen in love with the celebrity artists; they sell newspapers, but are they connected to the hip-hop movement? Lutakome Felix analyses the recent history of hip-hop in Uganda.
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