Creativity, innovation and experimentation sets a new pace for neighbourhood artists
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.
About 6 kms from Masaka town is a small village called Ndegeya. Here you will find Weaver Bird, an artists’ community in the making which hosts an artist residency, a camping site with a sculptural park, handicrafts centre and more.
Artist Collin Sekajugo started Weaver Bird Arts Community about two years ago as a community initiative, borrowing from his earlier idea of the same project in Kigali, Rwanda.
“I started the Weaver Bird Community for the arts as a way of giving back to the community and also create local awareness of the arts,” Sekajugo explains. “I am funding the arts village using money from my own savings. It is not easy, but I am glad I am doing it because I would like to encourage other artists to always invest their money in activities that are developmental to the arts in Uganda.”
On the day we visited, the local community showed that this youthful and industrious artist has already achieved more than he set out to achieve. It was an ’Open day’ - a sunny Saturday afternoon and locals at the Ndegeya trading centre cheerfully staged performances in music, dance and drama.
Sekajugo’s Weaver Bird venture is not alone in the quest to spur creativity, innovation and awareness in the now very competitive art industry. Fasfas Art Café, another arts project initiated by the seasoned conceptual artist Ronex, has already elicited excitement among the local and expatriate community of art patrons.
Located off the main Kampala-Bugolobi Road, Fasfas operates as a café and open environ art space where artists and art lovers are freely welcome to share ideas and at the same time create beautiful – and conceptual – art.
“This space is unique in the sense that it is open to every artist to come and install their ideas,” says Ronex.
An interesting element at the space is “Pimp your Property” where everyone is welcome to bring their clothes (shirts, jeans, shoes etc) and use the colors and paintbrushes provided to add art to the property.
Now nestling in the leafy neighbourhoods of Kololo, MishMash is another such events gallery/café that blends art, food, music and fun in one space.
“MishMash’s mission is to make art accessible to people. We do this by presenting art in a nice atmosphere where people can have something to eat as well as interact with artists and share ideas about art,” says Genevieve Williams, one of the directors of MishMash.
MishMash’s space boasts an exotic ambience and hosts an exhibition in its lounge every end of the month. The exhibition is usually theme-motivated and allows artists to work creatively and experiment with new ideas.
Another space that promises to be even more practical is 32° East. Its setup is similar to the Kuona Arts Trust in Nairobi, and its mission is to foster creativity and innovation in the visual arts using different elements like studio spaces, a resource centre, local and international workshops and artist exchanges.
In its proposed location on Kasanga-Ggaba Road, 32° East’s primary target audience will be emerging and contemporary artists in Uganda. The emphasis will be on freedom of artistic expression and to provide artists with educational and professional resources and information.
“The project will encourage artists to work in groups and not in isolation such that creative ideas can be born. We will have eight studios which will be filled on a project proposal system so that artists can realise specific projects or work with a particular medium,” says Nikki Elphinstone, founder and curator of 32° East.
“The project is registered as not for profit and we are getting our core funding from the UK based African Arts Trust,” says Rocca Gutteridge, founder and artistic director of 32° East.
Not detached from the noble cause of fostering creativity and innovation in the arts, is the first Kampala Contemporary Art Festival (KLA ART 012), planned to take place in October 2012. Its vision is to create a forum where creative ideas can be set free, bring art to the people and be innovative in art production as well as presentation.
“We are going to be working with 20 artists before making the final selection of 12 contemporary artists to be showcased in the festival in October. The ideal motive is to get artists to push their limits and create something totally different from their regular artworks,” says Katrin Peters-Klaphake curator at Makerere Art Gallery and one of the organizers of the festival.
One of the most exciting elements of the festival will be the use of shipping containers as additional exhibition space.
“Containers are objects which many Kampalans are familiar with. They are used as homes, shops and offices in many parts of the city. However, at the festival we are going to use them as exhibition space as well as a way of bringing people closer to art,” Katrin reveals.
The 12 containers will be located near all the art galleries namely; AKA Gallery (formerly Tulifanya), Afriart Gallery, Nommo Gallery, Makerere Art Gallery, Goethe/AFK, and Uganda Museum.
Though all these art spaces may have an overlapping objective - fostering creativity and experimentation vis-à-vis bringing art to the local people - this is a healthy form of competition which will help the art industry in Uganda grow. If the artists affirmatively respond to the task, it will be a leap in their career and will also increase their fortunes on the international stage of the arts.
An extended version of this review of new and evolving arts spaces in Kampala has been published online at startjournal.org.
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