Andrew's new work:











Image titles, L to R: Am married, Masai Dance, The Indian Ocean, Masai Stone Carving, Beautiful African, Jazz 1 - 4

AUGUST 2004
Ulf has established a mailing list for UHWLA on Atelier Nord's server. Thank you Atelier Nord for continuing to support UHWLA, and thanx to Ulf for his initiative!

For information on this list, please see:
http://sympa.anart.no/sympa/info/uhwla

JULY 2004
Pointers for the future, comments about the past and current status quo from UAA artists at Thursday meeting July 15th 2004.

Arising from a discussion about UAA-Motherboard Norway relationship. Discussion moderated by Margaret Nagawa. The ideas below were collected after a short discussion by distributing sheets of plain white paper around the circle of artists at the meeting with various people writing what they personally felt. 18 artists signed in the UAA attendance book as having attended this meeting. Their ideas and comments are listed below as they were on the handwritten papers with no other underlying system of ordering or editing.

Computers are now housed at the UAA resource center located in the Nommo Gallery complex, Nakasero, Kampala. The space is very small. Andrew Bainomugisha has volunteered to run the resource with special focus on the computers until September when he joins Makerere for fulltime degree studies. He would teach artists who need this and help others complete their varied art works on the computers.

Then UAA would like to hire a resource manager. But two main problems were identified with UAA: lack of funds and weak leadership where projects identified and sometimes started cannot be properly completed.

1. Computers failing to function, crashing, lacking basic software like Photoshop etc (investigation required)
2. Some of us did not have enough access on them and therefore I think it is the right time to use them. Thanks to the Norwegians for that offer.
3. We should start thinking about how we are going to construct our own building for the computers either from donations or by ourselves.
4. What about the musicians? Rasta’s complaints were not dealt with and this is indeed bad treatment to the upcoming musician (Rasta). The association should not discourage musicians but it MUST give them good treatment to encourage more and more of them (musicians) to join the association. This was too too disappointing!
5. I think for you guys to take the initiative, put resources together, computers and all and come to Uganda for this workshop, then leave everything behind is a great challenge to us. Thumbs up to you guys. Perhaps you could suggest on how we should keep the computers running.
6. More leaves to be desired coz many ideas have been left out since the workshop (fire needs to be kept burning) i.e. a money generating project deserves to be created or set up coz the association has let many plans sleep due to lack of funds which is so disappointing to many young and new artists for nothing new is seen progressing!
7. How do we hope to get the music equipment running? The music was quite a captivating part of the whole exhibition.
8. Make newsletter with these computers.
9. It is better for the association to have someone who is fully employed – but the association should make sure that he/she is fully busy with things like mobilizing, receiving emails, communicate all the events that take place and all things that can make us move “forward”.
10. Connect UAA homepage to the Ugandan government website. Inquire with ministry.
11. Projects for UAA …Uganda Artists Assoc. to design all sculptures for Kampala town. Katende Julius.
12. We need to open a website for the association.
13. We need maybe a monthly article to the newspapers concerning our ways forward.
14. This year the focus is on women & girls &HIV/AIDS. It would be good if Uganda Artists Association did something for this – possibly for World AIDS Day in Dec. Follow this up with UAC (Uganda AIDS Commission)
15. Seek for ways of raising funds through proposal writing and linking up with potential donors.
16. The Artists Assn. needs to organize a grand exhibition to get started on targeted topics.
17. Coordinator is urgent need for the Assoc. Write down what skills we need, identify what we want them to do, and then match a candidate to the job.

RELEVANT LINKS
African Colours: http://www.uganda.africancolours.net/
World Aids Day: http://www.worldaidsday.org/

March 2004
"What is the place of today´s traditional yet techno art in today´s slow yet hectic lives?"
Margret Nagawa, U-HWLA, Kampala

What are the possible viewing dimensions for the audience of today´s art?

An art that involves and uses new technologies

Will the art extend beyond the gallery walls into the pedestrian lives on the dusty streets?

What does this mean for the community?

The community artists wish to address

What does this art represent to and for the people?
functional?
entertainment?
worship?
social commentary?

Does this new art locate itself in the people´s everyday existence? their homes? their towns? their bicycles? their boda bodas? their matatus? ku stage awo? ku maduuka?

Have the possibilities of the computer, the world wide web, the internet been widely explored by artists in Uganda today?

How can the networking potential of the internet be garnered
for the transformation of individuals
and the wider communities in which they are located?

What are the available skills in these communities?

How can they be harnesed for the wellbeing of the community

How can the internet travel to Kalangala, Kazinga, Koboko to transform the people in those places for the better. How can it locate itself in the life of Muzeeyi Yozefu Kalibbala, or of Omukadde Luusi Akello, or of Baby Peace Bayaruhanga.

How can we reach these new frontiers

using paths not trodden before

to reach wider and broader horizons?

Marriage.

It would have to be a marriage.
a marriage of the old and the new
of the familiar and the unfamiliar
of cultures
of differences
of a dancer and a designer
of a painter and a politician
of a welder and a watchman

EMAIL FEEDBACK

05.03.04
Email from Kirya Jackson who jammed with Nood at the Musicians Club, the National Theatre, Kampala.

Hello Amanda,
how is every thing going on over  there together with all your family members and also friends? Back to me (Jackson) the saxophone player. I am fine though it has been long with out writing any mail to you since you gave me your address. I hope to communicate to you more at any time and I request you to send my greetings to the guitar player and the dj (remember at national theater it was marvelous) with my saxophone.

Back to me, down is my back ground.

I am a Ugandan boy aged 17 years old and born of a Christian family. In our family we are 3 boys and 3 girls of which Iam the last born. Our late father was from Comoro highland in the Northern Madagasca and for our mother she is alive and a Ugandan.

Back to my studies. I am a Student in Molly And Paul Christian High School, and I have just sat for my National examinations of form 4 and after reciving my results I will have to join form 5 next year.

Back to music I am a musician and it was all from my father who was playing in the Army Band. I also started playing music at the age of 9 years old in a school band with the trombone and the saxophone. As time went on I also added the Clarinet. When I joined the secondary school 4 years back I also joined the Kampala Music School as a saxophone player of which I did from grade one up to grad 4 last yaer. I love music very much and many people have come to know me just because of my saxophone in Uganda. Musical instruments like the sax in Uganda are rare and I am sure that you did not meet more than 4 saxophone players.

I also like to form a small group for the village children and I begin teaching them how to play and also to read music (I am going to begin this soon) and I request you to really tell me whether it is good. I also play jazz music and I have my own compositions of which are good to listen when I am playing them.

So please, greetings to you and also to your family that I love them in Christ.

MAY GOD BLESS,
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
KIRYA  JACKSON

02.04.04
Email from Samson Ssenkaabe

Hi,
How are you guys doing? It's me Samson, it's been long since you guys left Uganda. I must say it was a good experience working with you guys. I am actually doing  a lot of stuff using that experience. It was an eye opener for me. However I enjoyed the last gig I did with you guys at the Jam session. It was great fun. Only I wish you could be here and we do more stuff because I have given myself a holiday. Please inform me of any projects you are working on i will be interested. When will you guys be coming back to Uganda? I can't wait.

Take care guys.
Samson.

05.04.04
Email from Ronex

Dear Amanda,

It was nice meeting you people, we had a good time. I wish you could spend some more time. I am fine and still surviving. My exhibition is going finer than I expected. I have sold 24 works in a week and two days not bad 4 me though its my third solo. The only problem was,few weeks back I was attached and robbed of most of the things I had and beaten badly; am just recovering all I know I will be fine.

I thought the outcome of my exhibition would enable me have a laptop of my own because that was my main focus of this year but I do not see that happening cause I would be penniless. Iwill use the money to furnish my new home and 4 the meantime I will be using the computers u donated to us.

I take this opportunity to thank u and the crew again.

Greetings to all the hot wired!