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George Kyeyune at his home studio, 2010.

George Kyeyune at his home studio, 2010.

The Perceptive Observer: An interview with George Kyeyune

A cow. A boda boda. A woman carrying her child in a sling. A man pushing a wooden wheelbarrow. George Kyeyune sees extraordinary stories in ordinary events.
”If I can record these moments in time as permanent images. To engage my audience. To show you our history. To provoke you and challenge you about who you are. Then I have accomplished my mission as an artist”.

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Taga Unveils Totems of Uganda

The recent Totems of Uganda painting project by Taga Nuwagaba was nothing short of a new testament of creative thinking and artistry put together. During the opening at the Uganda Museum, most patrons agreed that Taga had raised the bar of visual arts presentation: The more than 1,500 guests, the fanfare, and much more, was a far cry from what had come to typify art Ugandan exhibitions in a very long time.

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Eria Sane Nsubuga

Eria Sane Nsubuga

Sane: The steady decline in media coverage of visual arts

“Artists must become more visible and more aggressive in their social dealings. Their messages should become more provocative and defiant. The writers should take time to write about their own work and make sure it is published regularly.” Eria ‘Sane’ Nsubuga speaks out about the steady decline in representation of artist and message in Ugandan media.

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Front cover of Issue 004

Issue No 004 Dec ´09

The last quarter of the year was an exciting one for the Ugandan art world. It saw the arrival of the Dutch Masters Today exhibition at the Uganda Museum, which was unique not just because it enabled three prominent Ugandan artists—our own Daudi Karungi and Henry Mzili Mujunga among them—to exhibit alongside Dutch masters, but because our national museum actually hosted a modern art exhibition. Mzili talks to its curator, Ugandan expatriate David Oduki, and gets his ideas on one of our central preoccupations—how to get Africans to buy African art. In the performing arts arena, Tebandeke Samuel Lutaaya reflects on the history and development of modern dance in Uganda. We go beyond the purview of fine art to look at the aesthetics of branding with Michiel van Oosterhout’s piece comparing the marketing tactics of Uganda’s ever-growing stable of telecom companies. Finally, Dutch photographer Andrea Stultiens weighs in from the Netherlands in Notes from Abroad, we provide a primer for pricing artwork—and more.

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Front cover of Issue 003

Issue No 003 Jul ´09

In this issue, we offer several contrasting perspectives on this controversial show of lecturers’ work. Elsewhere, correspondent Henry Mzili Mujunga returns with a reflection on the contentious issue of nudity in the arts and local urban culture. Mzili also profiles successful Ugandan photographer Eric Rwakoma, one of those rare and envied members of our artist community who manages to make his living doing what he does best. On the international scene, Leah Sandals provides us with a primer on how to break into the exciting and lucrative Canadian art scene. Read on for more features on the latest trends and techniques in the Ugandan art world.

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Front cover of Issue 002

Issue No 002 Feb ´08

In the second issue, we explore the vital—and sometimes uneasy relationship between the arts and the commercial world. Artist and writer Henry Mzili Mujunga returns as our chief correspondent, exploring the recent rash of “biennales” and other art festivals in Africa and around the globe that have, in a desperate search for approval from the arts establishment, looked suspiciously similar. Mzili also profiles Segah, the rising Ugandan sculptor with a refreshing work ethic and takes us behind the scenes for the making of The Stride, the sculpture commissioned for last year’s CHOGM extravaganza. Anne- Liese Prem looks at the trend on the international art scene of works fetching staggering sums and the struggle to bring funding to our local arts scene. And finally, Catherine Meyer writes about how the arts in Uganda are giving something back to communities.

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Front cover of Issue 001

Issue No 001 Oct ´07

In this first issue, founders Daudi Karungi and Henry Mzili Mujunga talk about the success of the recent “pothole art” produced during La Ba “street art” festival in Kampala and the role of public art as a way to promote the visual arts in African cities and make art more accessible to local residents. We talk with Maria Naita, perhaps Kampala’s premier sculptress; Mzili reflects on the identity politics of being an artist in Africa today and Dean George Kyeyune gives us the history of Makerere’s Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art — one of the most venerable art schools on the continent. We also pay a visit to the Mona Studio in Kamwokya, where local artists are pioneering a new kind of inner city art studio.

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