The First Week...odds and ends

A good friend of Fred's and someone who I have enjoyed getting to know over the years is Rose Mwanja, chief conservator from the Uganda Museum. She has been so gracious to me as I have been researching plaited mat making and bark cloth. During my trip in 2008, she was one of the scholars who was interviewed for the Material Evolution exhibition. We barely made it through the interview for laughing so much. I am very thankful for her support. She was to make it to the exhibition in Masaka but had an emergency at the museum the morning of - we missed having her there! That is Fred seated to her right.



During my trip, someone asked me who Fred Mutebi was and what he did. I tried to explain about his artwork, his work with children and the community, but it was becoming too lengthy - so I just said that he is an artist activist. I feel that is a good title for an artist who is so concerned about the trials of his country that he works hard using what he knows, art, to brings about conversation and provoke people to think about issues. I say all of this to introduce a project that I was able to see Fred work on with secondary school students at the Lubiri Secondary School. In February, elections will be coming and with that the potential for violence. Fred worked with an organization called Fair Pen (www.fairpen.com) to organize the creation of a Talking Mural with the theme of "Together we can talk to avoid electoral violence."
Fred continued this message as he worked with the Lubiri students to create prints using a reductive method. I had the opportunity to attend and talk with some of the students. I am including some images from that workshop.

The first week....meeting Expedito

This first week back in Uganda was about putting the finals touches on the plans for the Masaka program. I was running around town touching base with friends, organizing aspects of the trip with Fred, etc etc. What I continue to love about Uganda is that you can never expect what will open up, who you will meet, and what experience you will have from day to day. Through an acquaintance of Momma Jus's, we set off to the house of "an artist who collects art and crafts." So with that explanation we arrived to meet Expedito Mwebe Kibbula and his son, Michael.

This description was an understatement of both the house and the artist. His house is the studio, every corner loaded with sketches, drawings, books, visual stimulus that draws you in. I have to say that in the short time we spent with Expedito and his son, he made a definite impression. He has such a life and desire to see in all things - beauty. His collections of thousands of leaves, where each one is a narration of an event, or reflects another object - is astounding and just a small part of his collections. He is one of those rare people who takes the time to stop - to think, to look, to feel. And he wants everyone else to do the same. With all of the projects I have been working on recently, I forget that I am an artist, and what I have to say is that Expedito caused me to remember that.

As we were talking, he says that he feels as though he lives in a dream - one that we all hope to step into.

From the beginning...

There are some major gaps to fill in - large parts of my time in Uganda only exist as photos saved on my desktop. As a remedy to this situation, I thought that I would begin again.....
I must first say that this project would not have been the success it was without the talent of Becca and Amanda (highlighted in an earlier blog). What I found so refreshing is that I was able to see everything with a fresh perspective. This was my 5th trip back and in some ways there is a sense of the familiar. Becca and Amanda did not have that. So they allowed me to see things new again - thanks ladies!
So that I can highlight the general aspects of this trip, the best format (although a little organized for my taste) will be short paragraphs......

The luggage...... The ever ambitious and amazing Amanda and Becca managed to get loads and loads of art supplies donated for the workshops. More than was possible to even think of taking! So with over 500 pounds of luggage we managed to make it to Kampala. I love the look on Amanda's face as she is trying to sort out some of the luggage.

The incredible family..... This is my third year to stay with the amazing Bosa family. Prof Bosa, Momma Jus, Momma Ruth, and everyone else (too many to name) are some of my favorite people in the world, this is not an overstatement. I feel that part of me is home when I am there. Momma Jus is an avid gardener, just look at the beauty surrounding us. It is also not an understatement to say that I eat Thanksgiving dinner every night...matooke, ground nut sauce, fish, chicken, greens, potatoes, salad, fresh squeezed juice..and on and on.




Getting around.... Oh how we take for granted traffic signals, emission standards, and rules of the road. If it wasn't for my driver Herbert Nsiiro, I would not make it in Kampala. I would be forced to ride public transportation (I don't even want to go there...you'll see the photo of a boda boda) First, he is an excellent navigator whose goal is to avoid any and all jams. Second, he has been an incredible guide to the culture and politics of Uganda. I joke with him that he knows everything - and he does. Whatever you need, he can get...want some paper cut, DVD burned, to get out of a traffic stop, where to get a new tire in under 15 minutes, name it and he knows. So if you read this Herbert, I still have that map for you!

Postponing....

With the exit of Amanda and Becca from Uganda - so goes my easy access to the internet. So I will have to say that I will spend some time when I get home catching you up on my work here. The photos are great, but I want to tell you more about the experience and the results of these efforts.
Lesli

Week 2...Second Day of Workshops at Buyoga Community Center

The second day of art workshops was again a success. Given the short amount of time I have to post, I thought I would highlight the day through photos!

Week 2...Art Workshops at Kasota Primary School

On Monday, we began the second part of Renewing Material, the Talking Mural Exchange and art workshops. Nine schools in total were involved, split into two locations - Kasota and Buyoga. This is an image of a promo poster that was given out to the community.

Five schools convened at Kasota Primary School, ready to participate and create. When we arrived, there were over a hundred children ready and waiting. (As a side note, we asked that 20 students be selected from each participating school. We learned that Kasota P.S. has over 350 students and 7 teachers!)

As for the day's activities, Fred and Amanda were involved in communicating and executing the creation of a Talking Mural on bark cloth that will be taken back to Rasor Elementary, Becca's school. Also, Amanda was engaging with the students to understand what they were learning from the experience for her thesis. Ivan, Becca, and I were manning the 3 art activity stations inside - printmaking on barkcloth, drawing on canvas, and paper bead making.

Week 2...Traveling Exhibitions...images from Buyoga Trading Center

Although each exhibition site on Sunday proved to be a unique experience - considering that I am running several days behind on my posts, I thought I would give you a selection of photos that I think highlight the day!

Week 2... Traveling exhibition, second stop at Buyoga Trading Center

Just after our morning at Kasota, we packed up and headed to the second stop on our exhibiton "tour," Buyoga Trading Center, about a 20 minute drive from Kasota.

This area is quite important to Fred, he is invested in the community, having worked on several projects with them in the past and present. On my visit to Uganda in 2008, Fred and I took a tour of schools in this area, several that he had worked with and several he was hoping to work with in the future. We developed the idea for the first Talking Mural exchange while visiting this area. In 2009 Fred was able to work with this community on the first mural exchange that was held between the Kibinge area and local schools in the Denton, Frisco and Dallas areas. This was a part of the Renewing Material and the Handmade project I began in 2008.

So it was quite wonderful to continue working in the same area and with many of the same people. So as we approached the exhibition site, again, we were warmly welcomed. Many students and community leaders lent a hand as we began setting up the exhibition. Much like Kasota, everyone was very interested to see the works and get a closer look. But before the exhibition officially opened, we were welcomed with song and dance from the local children. Kalungi Sarah, the Headmistress of Maleku Primary school, and several other community officials formally welcomed us to Buyoga and we were asked to say a few words as well. As a side note, elections are going on, so one of the local politicians/teachers gave her speech for votes then opened the exhibition…

The following post will have several images of the location and the people.

I decided to include an image of the 2009 Talking Mural exchange that took place in Buyoga. Along with the exchange was the ceremonial planting of bark cloth (mutuba) trees.

Week 2...Traveling Exhibition welcome at Kasota

As you have seen by now, there are so many wonderful things going on in Uganda. Despite the poverty and hardships in the area where we worked, we were able to see the gifts that the community is blessed with. As I mentioned in a previous post, the community at our first stop welcomed us with an unexpected program.
This short video shows the natural rhythm these young children have - the drummers were especially gifted.

Week 2...Traveling Exhibitions...first at Kasota

Sunday proved to be an amazing day. We opened the traveling exhibition in two locations, Kasota and Buyoga - both areas of Kibinge Sub County. Before I go on the describe the events, I must first tell you how this all came about...since I was in Texas coordinating with Fred in Kampala, he had to have someone on the ground here in Masaka working directly with the schools. His brother Steven (who I posted a photo of in the previous post) has been amazing at coordinating and mobilizing the community both at Kasota and Buyoga. Everything from the tent set up to getting the word out to the community about the project was coordinated before I arrived. Both he an Fred worked extremely hard to organize and generate excitement about the project. And judging by the turnout for the exhibitions it worked.

When we arrived at Kasota Primary School early that morning we were greeted by the entire community. The tent was set up with displays of mat, banana leaf products as well as hundreds of small bark cloth doll dresses (which were part of an initiative to teach product development and craft skills to the community.) In one corner of the tent, we set up our display of contemporary artworks from the students at Parsons, images of works by European artists, and artwork by Ivan, Sarah, and Venny. Mary Barongo and Oliver Heintz of Barktex worked with us to get images of the contemporary works happening throughout Europe.

What I did not expect was to have such a warm welcome. We were seated as a troupe of dancers, young girls from the village, performed in their local language. Several of the community leaders as well as Matilda, the head mistress of Kasota Primary School, gave speeches that expressed their excitement for the project. Fred, Venny, Sarah and I were asked to speak and then the exhibition was officially opened.

I enjoyed seeing the interest in the works that we brought. In particular, Ivan, Venny and Sarah were able to talk one on one to the artisans of the community about their work - especially issues of good craft.

You can see great photos of Venny, Ivan and Sarah below.

Week 2...Finding our way to Kasota

What I have always loved about the countryside is the beauty - the contrast of the red dirt roads cutting through the green landscape. But itsn't there always a price for beauty? Before I go on I have to say - Fred Mutebi is an excellent driver. Uganda is full of a handfull of smooth tarmac roads, but the majority are pothole filled, water washed, red dirt roads. It takes a skilled driver to navigate the directionless traffic going way to fast, avoiding people walking on the sides of the roads, and dodging the gullies/ditches that wind their way down the center of the roads.
The video is one road that we took each day to get to Kasota Primary School. Our first thought was that we were going to get stuck in the middle of nowhere, but as I said earlier, Fred is an excellent driver.
I don't know if I mentioned one of our favorite people, Matila, the headmistress at Kasota Primary School? But one of the things that shows more of her character is that although she has a comfortable house in Masaka Town (in the city) she stays all week in the village at the school so that she can hold her teachers accountable and motivated. And experiencing her commute, I see why it is a challenge for her to even get to the school.

Week 2...Updates....finally.

My apologies for the long space between this post and the last. As I said in the previous emails, there are challenges with the the internet system. This past week was filled with meeting friends - fellow artists, scholars and family. I have been working to corrdinate with Fred, Becca and Amanda all the remaining planning/packing, etc for the Masaka project. So at some point I will make sure to let you know a little more about this past week.

But right now, we are in Masaka District, launching Renewing Material. Driving down on Saturday, we arrived in town to get supplies, find a hotel (no, I don't stay in the "bush"), and drive to the sights where the exhibition and workshops will take place. One of my favorite things about Uganda is that even the drive is an unexpected adventure - a dirt road filled, and I mean filled, with pot holes, ditches along with speeding cars and boda bodas coming at you. The image posted is one of the "adventures" along the way.

Besides Fred, Becca, Amanda and myself, our group included - Ivan Yakuze(artist), Sarah Nakisanze (artist), Olivia (Sarah's assistant), Michael Kirkpatrick (from the US), and Venny Nakazibwe (Dean, Makerere). Everywhere we have gone we have received the warmest of welcomes. Many from the community can out on Saturday to greet us and show us around their school. We visited Kasota Primary School and Buyoga Primary School. One of the key organizers is Fred's brother Steven (Fred is on the right, Steven on the left) and the Headmistress of Maleku Primary School, Sarah Kalungi (pictured in her office with Fred.)

So I thought I would post a few mages from Saturday.