Majority of his close friends are female, most of his clients want women-themed works, and most of the people who collect his works, locally and internationally, are women. How then can one possibly be wrong to conclude that renowned Uganda acrylic painter Yusuf Ssali is the ultimate `ladies’ man’ – …
Read More »BOOK: An African in awe
Ugandan-born writer Kirunda wants an African mental revolution but is he going about it the wrong way? A little over thirty year ago, Emmanuel S. Kirunda was an ordinary Musoga boy growing up in rural Iganga, in Eastern Uganda. He faced the usual struggles of growing up in a poor …
Read More »ARTS: Ronex unveils legacy works
His metallic figurines exude a fresh uniqueness Ronex Ahimbisibwe’s artistic enterprise has ensured he becomes a master of technical inventions in art. That and his tenacity as an artist make him stand out. They might also be his legacy. Of the crop of Uganda’s contemporary artists that have been practicing …
Read More »ARTS: When elephants kiss
Kitimbo’s unusual go-green art Art has long been a catalyst for social change, from the anti-war Dadaists during World War I to the music of Nina Simone during the 1960s civil rights movement in America. For as long problems and tragedies remain, art appears to always seek to play an …
Read More »When goldsmith turns to paper beads
Anyone who knows the exploits of Ugandan artist Sanaa Gateja can state without fear of criticism for journalistic exaggeration that he is the only remnant of the early post-colonial crop still actively turning and influencing the wheels of contemporary art. For over half a century, the artist has been committed …
Read More »Van Gogh’s spell on Paulo Akiiki
Vincent Willem van Gogh, the Dutch post-impressionist painter, is easily among the most famous and influential figures in the history of western art. In just over a decade, he created about 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. He …
Read More »Stained glass art
Dying elsewhere, booming in Uganda St. Peter’s Cathedral in Nsambya in Kampala is imbued with an aura that is unmistakably different from its environment. Upon entering the place, the atmosphere suddenly changes from the uniform bright light outside the edifice to a mild light interior made rich by colours filtering …
Read More »ARTS: Daring return to art roots
Rose Kirumira, Lilian Nabulime, F.X. Naggenda follow their ‘Africanity’ Contemporary visual art in Africa is little known in the West and in Africa itself. It is also undervalued. This writer once selected an abstract painting done by one of Uganda’s finest and did a mini survey on the streets …
Read More »ART: Sendagire’s fictitious stories busted
When astronauts return from space, many of them report that their perspective of life on earth has been transformed for the better. All differences, borders and barriers seem less important when you’ve seen the planet from 250 miles (400 km) above the surface, they say. For this reason, BBC features …
Read More »Unconventional art
Breaking the norm, symbolism, and escapism Critics are always praising works of art for being urgent, challenging, disturbing, and provocative and so forth. But is that what people actually want from the art? It is well known that most (visual) art produced nowadays exists almost entirely to allow the …
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