Modern Influences
East Africa’s modern
movement began in 1937 with the founding of the School of Fine Art at
Makerere University, located in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. This
acclaimed school has provided resources, guidance, and inspiration for
generations of local fine artists. Instructors at Makerere encouraged
individual creativity while also infusing talented students with an
appreciation for the work of both classic and modern European masters
such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, and Dali,
among others. During the mid-1960s Ugandan artists Mugalula Mukiibi,
Teresa Musoke, Elly Kyeyune, Norbert Kagwa, David Waswa Katongole, Misango,
Mwebwe, Fabiano Mpagi, Mutyaba, Lukenge, and Henry Lumu demonstrated
exceptional brilliance and originality. Works by these artists exhibited
regularly during this time through Nommo Gallery in Kampala.
Ugandan Modernism
The combined ingredients
of dedicated instructors, enthusiastic students, and creative freedoms
resulted in a blossoming of artistic innovation and excellence. Kampala’s
flourishing art community and resulting public exhibitions attracted
collectors from Europe and abroad, leading some of the more successful
artists to open their own galleries and studios to the public. During
this time, a distinctive "Ugandan school" emerged which was characterized
by African scenery and figurative themes captured in an imaginative
combination of both traditional and modern influences. Original forms
of Synthesism and Fragmentation developed among members of this school
along with numerous highly individualized idioms reflecting unique cultural
signatures and visual languages of this diverse region. The resulting
body of technically advanced works exhibited striking originality and
historical and cultural significance.
The Movement Expands
While many in Uganda’s
growing art community chose to remain in the country, increasing political
unrest during the 1970s forced others to migrate to other parts of the
world. Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya, became a focal point
where much of this transplanted talent began to collaborate, exhibiting
works through local galleries and participating in group exhibitions
at the Kenyan national archives and museums. During this time, celebrated
Ugandan national artist the late Henry Lumu and his younger brother
David Kibuuka met James Kitamirike. Working among fellow Ugandan artists
such as Dan Sekanwagi, Nuwa Wamala-Nnyanzi, Joseph Mungaya, Jack Katarikawe,
Emanuel Lubega, and others, they brought their unique style to Kenya’s
thriving art scene, exerting a broad influence upon other local artists.
In helping to define East Africa's emerging modern art movement, artists
of the Ugandan School gained international recognition. Since then,
the distinctive style of these artists continue to evolve, gaining further
influence and respect as they impact other artists throughout the world.
