Moment of truth for Ugandan art
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Loading... - Beatrice Obote
- 20 Feb 2023
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- Mr Daudi Karungi, an artist in his own right and founder of AAG, says the visual art in Uganda is rising like some phoenix from the ashes.
Artists, gallery owners, art collectors, and art enthusiasts have formed the Contemporary Art Society of Uganda (CASU) with the main objective of supporting the emergence of private and corporate art collectors in Uganda and the region.
CASU’s vision is to provide a forum for art collectors in Uganda to regularly engage each other, exchange information, grow the number of art collectors and support each other in the shared passion for collecting art.
The society aims at building more awareness about the visual arts scene and ultimately create more demand for art works from Uganda by Ugandans. It will facilitate and support the growth of exhibition spaces/art galleries.
The society was inaugurated on August 18, at a private dinner at the Afriart Gallery (AAG) in Kampala. The dinner was also a private pre-exhibition viewing of artist (Xenson) Samson Ssenkaaba’s 10--week exhibition titled: “Kaddugalamukatale”, which opened to the public on August 20 and would close on October 28. The artists in attendance were: Sanaa Gateja, Henry Mzili, Mona Taha, Leilah Babirye, and Sungi.
The CASU founding members are Stephen Tio Kauma, Barbara Barungi, Samallie Kiyingi, Linda Mutesi Sekaziga, Daudi Karungi, Julius M. Musoke, Eva Kavuma, Dr George Mutema, and Dr Nandawula Mutema.
According to Mr Kauma, the founding chairperson of CASU, the society’s “activities will become a key fixture on the visual arts industry calendar in Uganda and eventually across the region and continent.”
Rising from the ashes
Mr Karungi, an accomplished artist in his own right and founder of AAG, says the visual art in Uganda is rising like some phoenix from the ashes.
“Art in Uganda has been suppressed for so many years by actors that were foreign, but now with the participation of Ugandans either as gallerists, collectors, artists, audiences, we are seeing great visibility and an optimistic future,” he told Saturday Monitor. Read More…
