Uganda

^{GandaSpace.com has launched an Internet "virtual art gallery" that will showcase the works of artists who specialize in art themes and media that relate to Baganda and other African cultures. The gallery, which can be accessed at either www.GandaArt.com or www.GandaSpace.com, will give art lovers across the globe the opportunity to view and buy Ganda as well as other African art. Ugandan and other painters, sculptors and other visual artists will be accommodated. Read more.}

^{Ugandan born, USA resident Solomon Jagwe is one of those few lucky people whose work is really play. He is a visual artist who gets paid to be creative - the dream of many artists. The handsome 32-year-old artist has worked as a website developer and artist, as a photo processor, photographer, web development instructor, illustrator, animator and 3D graphics artist. He has been a traditional artist for most of his life. His background is in oil painting and sculpture, which he did when he was in Uganda. Read more from UGPulse.com.}

^{Artist, Ronex Ahimbisibwe, is striving to promote modern art in his native Uganda. His paintings, priced at around 600 dollars each, are too expensive for most Ugandans. He only sells around 20 paintings a year, most to tourists and foreign art lovers. Together with a group of local artists Ahimbisibwe has formed a group called Index Mashariki to try and raise Ugandans' awareness of modern art, and so increase their customer base. View video courtesy of Reuters.}

^{THOSE who detest simplicity do not find realism in art appealing. But for the less sophisticated art viewers, "putting it as it is", is the best way to communicate. Enock Kyambadde's work is nowhere near picture perfect, yet it contains the tenets of realism - undistorted forms, predictable patterns and plain colour   schemes. The young Makerere University student recently exhibited his latest collection of paintings at the Nommo Gallery. His paintings are inspired by his rural upbringing. Read more from allAfrica.}

^{New Year greetings from Ngoma, and best wishes for 2008. We've had a busy 2007, working on new projects the biggest being The Great Lakes Regional Workshop that resulted into Talking Compounds for the community of Kazo here in Uganda. In 2008, we look forward to sharing more of the same experience with you and most especially our international counterparts. Our dear artists who have already applied for this wonderful activity need not re-apply as their files will be considered during the selection process. Read more}

^{Talking compounds is a project aimed at mobilizing communities and more especially school going children to identify development issues and concerns amongst their communities. This activity will involve six International and six Ugandan artists. The activity will be held in the month of March-April 2008. The artists will attend a monthly market day, visit homes, conduct activities with schools, health centers, administrative units and group excursions. Read more}

^{What exactly is art? Is is the Monet hanging in a museum? Is it the finely woven, handmade bowl used to hold fruit on a table? Or as many say, art is simply indefinable. Ugandan painter Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi believes otherwise, " Art is an attitude and culture", said Nnyanzi, adding that art doesnt have to be vieed as intellectual. Yet, says the atist, translating an idea into a visual form is inherently an intellectual performance. Whether that visual form takes the shape of paintings or baskets, its value remains the same. Read more.}

^{While performing arts appeal quickly to the public, it is the visual arts that create a lasting impression. The Commonwealth delegate will descend onto a country with a rich tradition of the visual arts, one whose past, present and perhaps future lies in its paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints and monuments.Before the advent of modern art, introduced in Uganda in 1937 by Margaret Trowel, art was already in practice. The use of clay to make pots and jars was a known skill. Read more From Stephen Ssenkaaba}

_{Visionary painter, printmaker and sculptor, Ronex Ahimbisibwe offers his views on women’s rights, what is erotic and who supports African Art in Uganda.  He terms his work “Contemporary Indigenous Art”, by passing the Tradional v. Modernity and Western v. Eastern art debate, but in doing so, presents new topics for deliberation. For Ronex, ’When one talks of African art - one’s mind runs to West Africa because there is less documentation on arts...Read more}

_{The Embassy of Mexico is calling for people in East Africa who are wishing to create an artistic work in Mexico under the guidance of an expert in the field. The duration of the scholarship will be six months, during which the selected artists will be able to enrich their work through constant exchanges with Mexican artists.The successful candidate is to undergo a Spanish course prior to her or his departure.  Read more…}

_{“To me art  is what you  call it, it  is  the creative thinking of  an artists mind, therefore, as long  as our minds and creativity  stretches our ability we should let it be…” At only 27, Hood Juuko, has travelled the world in the name of art and exhibited his work widely. Read about his journey into the world of art and his candid views on contemporary African art. Interview by Africancolours.com Read more}

_{David Kibuuka, a visual artist and artistic director of the Batik Art Workshop in Uganda, welcomes all who are interested in exploring a totally unique method of artistic self-expression to visit the Modern Batik Art Workshop Centre, at 4220 Steeles Ave, West Suite C-14, Woodbridge, Ontario L6L-3S8. The centre is committed to promoting and teaching the techniques of the Art. Whether a student of school age or senior citizen...visit the website from modernbatikartworkshops}

_{Through their art, whether intentionally or not, artists in Gulu have been telling the story of the two-decade war and its effects on the people here. It is evident through the paintings and musical instruments that are found in the two workshops that African colours visited in Gulu town. It’s either the story of a grim past or of a long-for peaceful future.Gabriel Odong-Kara Ochieng, a painter and a fine artist...Read more}

_{The Complex Art and Design Studio is, to say the least, complex. Not that there is anything ambiguous about it, in fact it is the most basic art studio i ever saw: An old can of paint with water here, a thousand and one fine brushes all over the place, half done paintings and sculptures and that unmistakable smell of a mixture of paint and felt pen ink. Typical of any painter's workshop... Read more}

_{Everybody who is interested in the Ugandan art scene has heard of this visual artist. He is truly one of Uganda's greatest success stories, cultural ambassadors and role models. David Kibuuka is also known as one of the originators of Fragmentation, which is the distinguishing method of composing dominant and multifaceted visual images using mosaics of color and form. Read more as he talks to Jane Musoke about his work.}

_{Uganda has produced a host of famous artists in recent generations, despite experiencing a political rollercoaster and huge social upheaval. How did they do it? Uganda has a long history of formal art education. Under British colonial rule as a Protectorate, it was seen as being of less strategic importance than Kenya and this allowed the establishment of art as a school subject. By contrast...Read more}

_{Mambo Art Academy is a new body of young upcoming artists offering different visual art programmes. Its major aim is to support upcoming artists. They also participate in exchange programmes with artists worldwide. They held one of their first major art shows recently, but will the Mambo Art Academy stand the test of time? This is the question that hauntingly hung in the air recently as the academy availed its new breed of visual artists...Read more}

_{Galleries in Africa are teeming with impressive Van Goghs, Rembrandts and Picassos. However, all these 19th Century European-look-alike masterpieces are created by contemporary Africans. LYDIA GATUNDU GALAVU wonders if  African artists are copying Western art or are merely reclaiming their stolen heritage.}

_{Whether consciously or not, artists in Africa today utilise forms attributable to Cubism and Expressionism...Read more...}