Arts festival uses lens of care to toast to heritage

The fifth edition of Kampala’s longest-running contemporary art festival was staged last month with 28 artists displaying their works.

The KLA ART, which is produced by 32° East, ran from August 8 to 24 under the theme “Care Instructions”, with organisers exploring how the festival can be a space for both artists and audiences to engage with indigenous/local knowledge as care instructions and apply them to the concerns of today.

On display at the Makerere Institute for Social Research (MISR) Library was Birungi Kawooya and Rebecca Khamala’s installation Cultivating Rhythms of Care, which encourages returning to harmony with nature and eco-feminist practices.

Cultivating Rhythms of Care, per Birungi, is a biophilic installation curated to reflect on the monthly menstrual cycle in relationship to the seasons in nature, supported by a soundscape.

“It is ordered in three layers that follow the concentric form of the MISR library pavilion. It comprises a woven wall that encloses the space, a veil partition that guides movement through the space, a food and plant display along with questions to initiate conversations and knowledge on local foods, what we learn from the story of Njabala, and how we can care for our bodies throughout the menstrual cycle,” Birungi said.

“I am inspired to understand how to better nourish my body, mind and spirit for myself and as a part of a community and ecosystem. I am curious as to what care instructions I have taken on and what I need to learn to contribute towards community healing and repair,” she added.

Set up in form of a garden of plants, food and fresh fruit baskets, hanging dry cereals like beans, maize, millet and sorghum, among others, Cultivating Rhythms of Care was stitched together after Birungi, who grew up in London, UK, learnt from family members “about the variety of local foods and how eating habits have changed.”

Khamala added: “I grew up seeing my Muganda mother grow herbs and organic foods around home, as taught by her Jajja, so learning about these is like carrying on that cultural heritage.”

The installation also includes natural materials made of papyrus, palm and bamboo leaves. Birungi told Sunday Monitor that she worked with banana fibre on clay-dyed bark cloth “to depict a crescent moon—that speaks to the link of the menstrual cycle to the movement of the moon—and ‘Njabala’ sleeping during her menstrual period, surrounded by a variety of nutritious organic food.”

Nicole Remus’s installation “Submerge,” displayed at the Salaama Road Farm, is a solitary, free-standing, outdoor bath space, nestled within a canopy of trees and herbs. This installation is rooted in the material culture of Ugandan vessels, creating an ethereal space that supports bathing as a holistic experience. It is an invitation to immerse oneself and dance with the water.

“I researched traditional bath practices and systems, such as locations of bathrooms in a homestead, how they’ve always been outside our houses, shoulder height, and open to the sky, and had semi-living walls. My structure has loofah and gourd vines growing on a papyrus trellis that creates a cocoon around a clay and cement bathtub,” Remus told Monitor, adding that she set out to merge the traditional and modern “both in the bath-ware and practices.”

Asked what her artwork portrays, Remus said it “speaks to how an intimate practice such as bathing can be an opportunity for us to heal as individuals and as a community. It also represents an ownership of our practices through design.”

Displayed at various locations was Bulungi Bwansi: A Zine Chronicle, a collaborative series between Jim Joel Nyakaana, a collective of basket weavers from Fort Portal, with writing support from Claire Balungi. 

Each piece takes inspiration from a KLA ART artist, using colour, photography and sketch to experiment with alternatives to standard art documentation.

Nyakaana uses weaving imagery and coffee stains as a nod to their role in bringing communities together to have conversations about heritage and culture.

According to Nyakaana, Bulungi Bwansi, which translates to “community service” in Luganda, is a call for the community to address the collective needs and challenges within their society.

“This concept is central to a zine chronicle documenting the KLA Arts Festival artists’ cultural heritage. The project focuses on the colours and shapes integral to their heritage, as interpreted by a community of basket weavers from Fort Portal. These artisans, led by Patrick Tungo Apuuli, a specialist in natural dyes, use these dyes to craft intricate baskets that reflect their cultural identity,” he said.

“The coffee stains and illustrations featured in the zine are an extension of the Luganda ritual Okuta Omuukago, a traditional practice where coffee beans were used as symbols to forge bonds between families and communities. This ritual, deeply rooted in Buganda, even extended to neighbouring tribes, symbolising unity and a shared heritage,” he added.

Nyakaana said the coffee illustrations around each basket symbolise the unseen support network that sustains the weavers.

“Additionally, the banana fibre used to frame the finished artwork carries its own metaphorical weight. The banana plant, particularly the matooke variety, is native to Buganda but has spread to neighbouring kingdoms,” he explained, adding, “The fibre, traditionally used to bundle coffee seeds, ties into the broader cultural and economic practices, reflecting the interconnections between tradition, trade, and sustainability. This material choice underscores the artwork’s connection to both historical and contemporary cultural practices.”

His artworks “portray the intricate relationships between cultural heritage, community support, and sustainability”. They also capture, added Nyakaana, “the depth of cultural narratives that go beyond what photography alone can reveal.”

The other projects displayed were Seyi Adelekun—Tree of Life; Monica Ahairwebyona—Hamue Pavilion; Mercy Ajatum—Body Protection; Evans Akanyijuka and Kevin Murungi—Punishment and Precaution; The Secret Society of Publishers—Unwriting Workshops; Fatuma Hassan—Graffiti Roots; Sixte Kakinda—Katasumbika; Lyndah Katusiime—The Living Pavilion; Catherine Lie—Sourdough Architecture; Brogan Mwesigwa—Kumanyangana; Maria Olivia Nakato—Heritage of Healing; Rachael Ndagire—Okuwalula Omwaana; Nilotika Cultural Ensemble—Rhythms of Renewal; Phumulani Ntuli—Cloud Migration; Mona Okulla Obua—Yao; Gor Soudan—The Black and Yellow Pan-Coffee Shop; Sandra Wauye—Ruminations on the Heart, the Tongue and the Shoulders; and Rosie Olang’ and Muthoni Mwangi—What About Mending?

KLA ART ‘24 was supported by Newcastle University, the British Council, the Prince Claus Fund, and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council.

Asked about the importance of holding this event, the Director of 32° East, Teesa Bahana replied: “Public art more broadly has the ability to bring people together from all walks of life; it can encourage reflection, spark curiosity, and even spark joy. By hosting a free event throughout the city, KLA ART also emphasises that art can be seen by everyone; one does not have to go to a gallery or museum to see art.”