An art exhibition for the silent voices
Some of the art pieces that will be showcased at the month-long festival in Kampala. Courtesy PHOTO
Can you imagine art works on display on boda boda motorcycles moving around the city promoting an art exhibition? Well, starting October 4, this unique exhibition will mainly be held at Kampala Railway Station for 30 days.
Thirty artists from Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Congo and Rwanda will unveil new artworks across Kampala. Dubbed ‘KLA ART 014 Unmapped’, the Kampala contemporary art festival will address issues to do with the “unheard voices of the city.”
Last held in 2012, where several artists exhibited in containers spread all over Kampala, this time Rocca Gutteridge, the project director, said they want to explore something different but also make more people appreciate and understand art.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday at 32° East in Kansanga, a Kampala suburb, Gutteridge said the festival will bring colour to the city. “We are going to have motorcycle taxis operated by both men and women,” she explains.
“‘Unmapped’ will attempt to artistically showcase how people from every stratum of society adapt creatively to survive,” says Violet Nantume, a member of the curatorial committee, KLA ART 014.
Some of the artists that will showcase include Helen Nabukenya from Uganda, Dennis Muraguri from Kenya, Kizito Mbuga from Uganda, who will transform a boda boda into a travelling cinema, while Jimmy John Ogwang will turn another into an interactive recording studio, in trying to map the “unheard” musicians of the city.
Umeme, Kampala Capital City Authority and Rift Valley Railways have partnered with the organisers to make the month long festival successful.
