Uganda art lovers in America this month through March have a chance to savour works by three of our top artists; Daudi Karungi,Sanaa Gateja, and Ismael Damba.
The trio is showcasing their works at the Pomona Culture Centre in New York, USA in a show dubbed “for the love of Africaâ€. They are in the good company of Kampala’s AfriArt Gallery sculptor Gloria Spevacek whose enchanting stone and bronze works are already a sensation.
The artists are selling paintings, woodcuts and hand-painted fabrics depicting the beauty of Africa. A percentage of all proceeds from this event, running since Feb.7 to March 21, will be given to Haitian relief and orphans in Uganda.
The show was initially planned as part of the Pomona Center’s “Black History Month†but embraved Haiti when the earthquake struck.
Gateja is a renowned backcloth artist whose works The Independent’s renowned art critic, Nathan Kiwere describes as “exuding freshness of disposition and restraint that is indigenous in most Ugandan lifeâ€. Gateja picks discarded local materials and converts them into amazing art pieces. Just thisJanuary at the Makerere Art Gallery he unveiled a mask suspended mid-air by three supports and festooned with overflowing strings of paper beads and other details wrought in intense colours and abstract forms that have been described as “hyper-spectacleâ€.
Ismael Damba is young, dynamic, and versatile who likes to paint his fascination with birds. To him birds are symbols and their boundless freedom an ironic metaphor for man’s bondage. Whether he is making textile designs, making prints, or painting, Damba dazzles with vibrant colours, bold lines, and flowery patterns.
Daudi Karungi is without a doubt one of the most entrepreneurial of all Ugandan artists. Many recall his 2008 “paint the music†project that aimed to raise money for the first Museum of Modern Art in Uganda. He has been selling art locally and internationally for more than a decade now, is the founder of AfriArt Gallery, and owns Wine Garage, the trendy wine bar in Kampala.
According to posting on its website, the Ponoma Culture Centre is a former schoolhouse which the current director, Tjok Gde Arsa Artha, has turned art into a delight of the senses. He produces imaginative artistic displays and exhibits. He brings arts to the community by adding his own unique touch. In addition to the art exhibits, there are poetry readings, performance arts and music. Festivities at openings include sharing of food together. These two months, residents have a chance to enjoy Ugandan delights.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
representing Uganda to its fullest.
Big up to Mushana.com {angella}
you people are making us proud.
http://bavubukacommunity.com
http:jerichobreakers.webs.com
[http:spokentruth.blogspot.com]
Gilbert Frank Daniels Bwette