k!1-and-a-half (a prelude to k!2)

Whilst gathering material for k!2 I thought I'd wet your appetites with news of what you have to look forward to, the highlight of which will, if all goes to plan, be an interview with Matt Bish of Kinna-Uganda and Battle of the Souls fame. Matt has kindly agreed to humour my curiosity about the Ugandan film scene and his role in it as a director, my research has provided me with some really interesting questions for him, I hope you will come back to read his response to them in k!2.

In the meantime, and to inspire all you budding artists and writers out there, check out some of the links in the sidebar and if you've a few minutes take a look at this video interview with Welsh artist Mary Lloyd Jones, who explains something of the relationship in her paintings between language and landscape. I will be visiting Mary's exhibition early next week. In it's simplest and most basic form we all share a common 'first language', one made up of wordless sounds, nameless shapes, and, as Mary says, 'making marks on the world' by our deliberate physical contact with it. Do you know of any artists, poets, or musicians who have also explored the themes of language, culture, and the physical landscape? What inspires your work?

Please do contact me if you would like to contribute in any way to kushinda! E-mail me at googlemail.com, user name ceris62, or leave a comment, I look forward to hearing from you!

k!1

welcome to k!1, the first issue of the kushinda! arts journal, k!

kushinda! is about promoting African artists, musicians, writers, creative people and projects, and helping them reach new audiences online. It will look something like an online magazine or journal, as it grows it will help artists and arts-based organisations to connect with sponsors, customers, and eachother!

in this issue -

art music community theatre children's drama club

This week's featured artist is Moud Kasirivu, seen here at his gallery with his good friend Kayiwa Fred of the Kampala Junior Team (you can read more about them further down the page)

Moud has been painting professionally since the age of 15. Like most African people I have met in this wonderful online world of ours he has had many trials to overcome in his life, being orphaned in childhood and having to drive himself towards his ambitions with little more than the will to succeed. Like many others also he does not forget those who are facing today the same hardships and challenges as he himself has faced, and has given freely of his time to guide and encourage young artists and would-be artists by holding workshops for the Kampala Junior Team. He currently has his own gallery and framing service in Kampala. Recently, many of his paintings were exhibited in Texas, USA. You can see more of Moud's paintings at his blogsite or visit our art! page, where you will find more of his work and contact details.

This week's featured musicians are idtwins - Kato and Wasswa, occasionally joined by their friend Denis, sing in Luganda, Swahili and English. Their music has a bright and lively sound which always makes me think of sunshine (something we need more of in my home country of Wales!) . Their songs reflect the positive spirit of youth and celebrate the opportunities life brings, whilst reminding those in authority of their obligations to manage their world to the mutual benefit of all and especially to those who suffer the consequences of poor planning and divisive policies. 'Mr Kampala', for instance, warns against the dangers to health and wellbeing in the city when basic health facilities are not provided and tribal rivalries allowed to interfere with progress. 'Kama Mbaya Mbaya' tells of the possibilities which open up when young people find work and are rewarded not just with money but with self-respect and a greater sense of control over their own destinies. Of course they also sing of love and the pleasures of living! Listen to them on iLike now!

Kenyan community theatre Repacted and and the children's drama club of the Kampala Junior Team are two examples of organisations using the theatrical arts to explore and educate about health and social issues. Repacted work with older children and young adults in and around Nakuru, Kenya, taking their community theater workshops into prisons, towns and rural areas. The Kampala Junior Team work with girls and boys aged 6 and above in the Kisenyi slum district in Kampala, Uganda. Strikingly these two organisations, despite the difference in age groups, share many of the same aims and concerns and both recognise the great potential of this branch of the arts for raising awareness of, and stimulating debate about, such serious and difficult issues as sexual health, gender equality, and tribal conflict. But wait a second, that doesn't sound like much fun, what could you gain from that experience that you couldn't get from a newspaper or a lecture? What makes art, be it theater, music, film, poetry or painting, so special? How is it we are moved by abstract paintings, or a song that is sung in a foreign tongue? How can a story, made up but well told, teach us more about ourselves than a text book full of facts? And just how special are the people who make these things happen?

What do you think? kushinda! would really like to know!