ARTS

`Mona Lisa’ fetches U.S$ 1.68m at auction Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | A painting of an African princess from Nigeria’s Ife; the spiritual heartland of the Yoruba tribe, recently went under the hammer for more than U.S$ 1.68 million at the Bonhams Auction House in London. The African Mona Lisa …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Shooting of scenes in Uganda’s capital Kampala for 27 Guns is ongoing as Natasha Karugire and Sharpe Ssewali direct an  Isaiah 60 Productions film about the National Resistance Army (NRA) liberation war of the early 8os. Roads around Parliamentary Avenue, Said Barre Road, King George II …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Dain Yoon uses only makeup, face paint and brushes to make her own face and body a canvas for mind-bending visual effects. The 24-year old who attended some of the most prestigious art schools in South Korea decided to focus on ‘illusion art’, a …

Lancaster, UK | THE INDEPENDENT | A Lancaster University alumna has been awarded a life-changing prize for literature. Dr Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi has been awarded the 2018 Windham-Campbell Prize in Fiction, which includes a grant of $165,000 (Sh603 million) to support her writing. Jennifer, a Ugandan novelist and short story …

Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | The board game (Omweso) is a gendered installation that highlights the patriarchal nature of the African traditional society. As such, it is a game that is only reserved for the male specie and women are forbidden from playing it because they have to perform household …

Gdansk, Poland | AFP | Vying for an Oscar, “Loving Vincent” is the world’s first animated feature film painted by hand — all 65,000 frames — in the distinct style of Vincent van Gogh. Centred on a probe into his untimely death, the film was shot on a shoestring budget of …

Kampala, Uganda | KEHINDE WILEY | Over the course of the past year, I have had the life-changing honour of painting President Obama’s portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. On Monday, we unveiled it to the world. I’d like to tell you a bit about it. In choosing the composition …

Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | Renowned Ugandan sculptor, Dr. Lillian Mary Nabulime of Makerere School of Fine Art, is celebrating 25 years of art making with an amazing display at Afriart on 7th gallery located in Industrial Area, Seventh Street, on the The Studios Building. The exhibition features highlights of …

Beyond the label, is there any truth to the compartmentalisation? Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | When Jak Katarikawe started to make art in the 1960s, everyone was stunned. Katarikawe, an illiterate, was a driver for David Cook, a Makerere University Professor of Literature (1962 1977). Katarikawe’s break through as …

East African biennale Kampala focuses on commonality Kampala, Uganda | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | Art has a universal language. That is why five East African countries can showcase as part of the East Africa Art Biennale currently running at AKA Gallery in Kamwokya, Kampala. The artworks, by different artists, from different …