The artists to watch in 2014
What you need to know:
The visual arts, which mainly includes paintings has kept its pace, delivering an appreciable number of artists, new art exhibitions and the resurrection of the Uganda Visual Arts and Designers Association (UVADA).
Picking up from an innovative 2013, the arts fraternity is lining up big things for 2014. The year hosted more than 10 art festivals, seasoned with unforgettable art works, infectious spoken word, poem recitals, dance and drama. The film industry also marched up to the frontline, showcasing Ugandan movie premieres and also had their very first movie award, which is hoped to be around for a life time
The visual arts, which mainly includes paintings has kept its pace, delivering an appreciable number of artists, new art exhibitions and the resurrection of the Uganda Visual Arts and Designers Association (UVADA). This year, the following are some of the talents to look out for:
Paul Ndema
For football fans, you can call him the Van Persie in Ugandan arts. He always delivers his best when his moment has come. He showcases at most twice a year. Known to address intriguing social facts like religion, one is in for physical therapy.
Carolynne Joanne Adong
A graduate from Nkumba University fine art faculty, Carolynne has set a mark on the visual arts scene as the “woman of clay”. She drives inspiration from God, who created from soil with the urge to create not only attractive and useable art works. She makes household utensils, ranging from pots to bottles and also decorative items. She stood out the previous year with her exhibition “Bits of Feminity”.
Eria Ssane Nsubuga
Someone called him controversial during his Abanene Arts Exhibition at the Afriart gallery. He just knows how to get viewers speaking. I am made to believe he starts engaging viewers from the tittles of his art exhibitions. He names them words people relate with. Then he climaxes it with detail of explanation during discussions of his work, usually held on opening nights which you should not miss this year.
Roldan Tibirusya Roland
2013 was a Roldan year because he stood as the only recognised souvenir artist in Uganda. His uniqueness opened doors to the biggest events in the arts like the Bayimba arts festival, where most revellers added their touch to his paintings as he displayed a huge piece of canvas at the entrance. He also graced the 90th celebrations of Makerere University with a souvenir piece to commemorate the ceremony.
Timothy Muhereza
Commonly known as Timiser, this young artist stands out for live paintings. He addresses issues affecting society, especially vices such as domestic violence. He also adds a nod to his paintings with textile as he uses his patterns to cloth and express what he feels. He labels himself as the founder of Art Life, a group of aspiring artists.
Jovan Kiganda
This is a music painter, by that I mean he does live painting as music plays in the background. The 23 year old artist is known for painting of Uganda’s very own guitar maestro Myko ouma. With classical music, he does the best output. As long as music lives in Uganda, you must track the trail of Kiganda.
