Splendors of Modern East Africa

James Kitamirike

David Kibuuka

Dan Sekanwagi

Select any artist above to view their works

East African Modern Art

 

East Africa’s modern movement began in 1937 with the founding of the School of Fine Arts at Makerere University, located in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.  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 Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, and Dali.  The combined ingredients of dedicated instructors, enthusiastic students, and creative freedoms resulted in a blossoming of artistic innovation and excellence in a process not unlike the European Renaissance.

During the 1960’s, a distinctive "Ugandan movement" emerged which was characterized by typical African scenery and figurative themes captured with imaginative hybridizations of both traditional and modern influences. In the 1990’s original painterly techniques such as Synthesism and Fragmentation developed among members of this movement along with numerous highly individualized idioms, reflecting the unique cultural signatures and visual languages of this diverse region. The resulting body of technically advanced work exhibited striking artistic originality in addition to its innate historical and cultural significance.

This exhibition celebrates the movement by featuring three distinct Ugandan artists: James Kitamirike, David Kibuuka and Dan Sekanwagi.

Exhibition sponsored by and exhibited at SunLibrary, Sun Microsystems, Inc.