The Intrinsic Beauty In Our Ordinary Lives ~ k!4 ~ Art in Uganda ~ A Perspective

Welcome to k!4, presenting work by Sanaa Gateja alongside Sanaa's thoughts on art, artists, and their role in contemporary African culture.

Sanaa runs the Kwetu Africa art gallery and studio in Lubowa, Kampala, an Appropriate Technology Center for the Arts, where he works, teaches, and promotes the use of traditional techniques and recycled materials. He works on locally produced barkcloth which he stitches together to make his canvasses, often incorporating found materials and natural pigments into his work. He also crafts soft furnishings and jewelry with the same artistic integrity and vision which characterises his paintings.
the intrinsic beauty in our ordinary lives

"There is an inherent respect and admiration of artists in Africa as a whole for what they are able to do, even without understanding what they do in these modern times of Western domination of materials, production and market. For the African Artist's place has shifted greatly in the last 100 years, as African art itself has experienced an identity shift from a people's art with indigenous patronage to one which belongs to a world of universal expression and appeal - this is the inevitable result of schools and interaction with other cultures of the world. This has left the African people isolated from their art and their artists because of the very dramatic transition the continent has gone through."

"Artists have the ability to somersault into the new world with ease even though they have the same heavy demands on their lives as everyone else. Creative talent has not been valued enough in our societies and not used for development . A very unique political and economical situation has evolved where the artist is seen as a magician and a visionary, or as a trickster and a liar. Schools are not teaching Art the way it should be taught. This year's best student at our national University was announced to tremendous applause by the Vice Chancellor to an audience of about 1000 parents and graduates. However, when it was announced that this student belonged to the Faculty of Arts and Industrial Design a whole three quarters of the audience booed and deflated the whole experience. I wanted to scream. The African Artist therefore, and in our Ugandan society in particular, is alone and isolated."

"The answer in my view as an African, and Ugandan for that matter, lies in bridging the gap between the Artist and community. We need to rediscover the materials used by our own masters of the past, the techniques used, the tools and the close observation of aesthetics, especially the intrinsic beauty in our ordinary lives. Recycling has a large place in art of Africa and teaching of appropriate technology will stimulate innovation that much further in our ordinary lives. A new language exists in mixed media art. I am very interested when I teach in exposing the world of adventure and experimentation to the students. It is the way to originality. The magic in art will be demystified to our societies on a broader scale. "

Words in quotation by Sanaa Gateja for kushinda!
Paintings by Sanaa Gateja

View more work by Sanaa Gateja online at kushinda!'s new website

Art is the Heart of Culture, Creativity the Power of Progress
kushinda!
when arts rise...

A note about links in kushinda! : I try to find informative and relevant pages to link to, sometimes these are straightforward dictionary definitions, sometimes encyclopedic, sometimes I come across journals, blogsites, organisations, and academic papers that seem particularly appropriate to the context in which kushinda! or its contributors use the word or phrase concerned. My intention is always to inform and to stimulate debate and communication. Suggestions for links are always welcome, as are your comments and submitted contributions to kushinda!