Nyar Kemet’s one man, one million exhibition

Today, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Nyar Kemet will perform at Jinja Jungle.

If you are wondering who Nyar Kemet is, she is the soulful artiste who used to go by the moniker Apio Moro.

For many reasons she has since rebranded to Nyar Kemet, still singing in Lusoga, Luganda, English, and Jopadhola which is her mother tongue, hailing from Tororo, Uganda.

She says that what she will be holding today is not a show but a fully blown exhibition, deeply personal, featuring six of 12 powerful surrealist art pieces, each inspired by themes of self-love, healing, and transformation—born from Nyar Kemet’s journey of overcoming adversity.

The exhibition is a tribute to the life and legacy of Apio Moro, reflecting Nyar Kemet's struggles, growth, and the healing process that led her to this moment.

Nyar Kemet comes from Tororo and while forging a career, she has seen all and probably more than many local acts go through, from going against the family to do music, joining a talent search, a group and later going solo and changing genres.

She auditioned for NTV’s Talent XP and did not win but did not give up when chance presented itself, she hopped onto the wind and was on yet another televised audition.

“I was part of the artistes that auditioned for Rated Next,” she says.

That was the second season of the show that also featured Winnie Nwagi, Janzi Band’s frontman Pages, Hudson and Charles Sekitoleko. Alongside one Lillian Nabuuma, Tasha and JJ, was one of the girls Roni Mulindwa tapped to create a revamped Obsessions.

Nyar Kemet though did not stay with Obsessions for long, they usually fell out over creative differences that she eventually left.

But soon as she had headed to Jinja, an uncle of hers connected her to a producer in Nairobi; “he was looking for a little known Ugandan artiste that could feature on an Amos and Josh record.”

The result was Kupe, a song whose video she would go back to shoot months later.

As Apio Moro, she says she battled a lot including a 15 year alcoholism and cigarette addiction that deeply affected her psychological and spiritual well-being.

Nyar Kemet had no access to therapy of any form, which made her journey of healing even more difficult. However, she found resilience through her own strength, using art and music as her forms of self-therapy.

However, through travelling, she found therapy in art and music, which is the cornerstone of her exhibition.

Much as she has been a singer and songwriter for more than 12 years, she has just started exploring expression with painting and thus, the works on display will be the first time she is exhibiting.

The six works on display were created with charcoal, chalk, sugar paper, and fixatives, inspired by self-love, healing, and transformation.

Her choice to do this in the jungle, at the banks of River Nile, she says is not only a performance but a live recording she is doing and is inviting the public to be a part of, blending art and music into one and the same narrative of recovery.

Besides the exhibition and performance though, she will also host yoga sessions that attendees can be part of.

As Apio Moro, the singer released two albums Chuni Adech and Choore, performed on stages such as Sauti za Busara, Bayimba, Blankets and Wine as well as travelling and performing across East Africa.

However, she still let go of the Apio Moro alias, one that was beloved and renowned. On why she chose Nyar Kemet as her new alias she says; “The people that brought me to this realm didn't nurture or love me properly, into a functioning human being. The people I met along the way as I was journeying through my life in East Africa, did all of that work, and so, I am a culmination of all the people I have encountered throughout my life that showed me genuine love up until this moment hence the alias meaning Daughter of Africa.”

In honor of Apio Moro, her last alias' legacy, proceeds from the exhibition will go to the Apio Foundation, an organization founded in her memory. The foundation is aimed to empower young Ugandan women and children through painting and drawing, offering a platform for self-expression, healing, and personal growth.