Art Nature Design

I was just reviewing video interviews for the exhibition at UNT in the spring and thought it was time to begin sharing more incredible designers and artists with you. One of my interviewees was Rene Malcorps who founded a company called Art Nature Design in Eindhoven, Netherlands(www.artnaturedesign.nl and www.kingskin.nl). This unique company's approach to design reflects their desire to build the environment and economy of Uganda through sustainable design.

I first met Rene in Kampala in 2008 where he was leading a bark cloth design workshop at Makerere University sponsored by UNESCO. In the interview he expressed his desire to make a difference as an artist and designer, enriching the lives of the people involved in his business by bringing opportunites back to Uganda. His ambition is "to create a long term economical and ecological system that is based on the balance between men and nature."

We are responing to the leading of Rene, Fred and many more artists and designers whose focus on the environment is reflected in their actions - one of the goals for our project in Masaka is to organize a mutuba tree planting in the community.

Rene working on technical support for Bark cloth improvement in Uganda. Image from BiD Network.