Exhibition artists

Sara KatebalirweSara Katebalirwe is owner and lead designer of Marie-Sar Agencies Limited based in Kampala, Uganda. She began her design career as a self-taught garment designer after a brief career in social administration. After an opportunity at the United Nations Textile Development Agency (TEXDA), she became engaged with product development; a new direction for her work which previously focused on one of a kind and specialty made garments. Sara has continued to develop designs using bark cloth and raffia, sometimes in collaboration with Sarah Nakisanze of Uganda and Rene Malcorps of Art Nature and Design in the Netherlands. Sara been recognized for her innovative designs, including: the nomination for the ‘Pan-African Women Invent and Innovate Award’ (Ghana 2005), receiving the ‘Achievers Award (2005)’ from Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited, the prestigious ‘Canada Gift and Table Association’s Top 10 Product Winners 2007’ Award and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association’s ‘C. Busuulwa Pioneer Award’ for her work with bark cloth. Most recently she was a finalist in the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award in Paris in 2010.



Ivan Yakuze A graduate from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Arts degree in 2001, Ivan Yakuze was able to train under professors who encourage experimentation with mixed media design. Conversations surrounding the role and importance of bark cloth to the cultural heritage of Uganda were a part of the environment in which he worked and learned. His work has developed out of a strong sense of design; creating intuitively, finding freedom in a mixed media approach to material relationship. His relationship to the material he uses comes from his belief that everything has a purpose and function; it can be recycled into a new life.

Ivan continues to explore the potential for bark cloth in the creation of works that have found their way into collections in the United States and Uganda. He has worked with Fred Mutebi, of Let Art Talk, in a variety of education outreach opportunities that brings art to the communities in rural areas of Uganda.


Renè Malcorps, Art Nature Design and Kingskin DesignsRenè Malcorps, is owner and head designer at the company, Art Nature Design, based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Early in his career as an artist and graphic designer, he focused on exploring the role of nature in his work. This interest eventually led him to pursue a Master’s in Sustainable Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven. During his studies, he discovered bark cloth and eventually formed Art Nature Design, creating bark cloth products under the brand Kingskin; selling special and sustainable products made of natural materials from Uganda. His focus on the relationship of the environment to sustainable product design has led Renè to pursue projects that benefit the local economy and environment in Uganda, including a future partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. In addition to designing for and running his business, he is currently teaching In and Outdoor Design at the The Green Campus in Helmond. Renè has won several awards including the international BID Challenge Award in 2006 and the Small Business Innovation Research Programma award for Biodiversity in 2009.

Emily Brewer, Decode DesignsEmily Brewer is a UK based designer who has been working with bark cloth for close to four years to create sustainable interior textile objects. She found that bark cloth allowed her to reconcile her designs with a desire to minimize the environmental impact of non-renewable materials. Through her company, Decode Designs, she explores the potential of this material in 3-dimensional design, sculpting it into patterned structures that respond to the unique color and tactility of each piece of bark cloth. She creates wall coverings, lamps, wall panels and more; her work can be found in private collections in the UK and United States. Her focus on using sustainable materials has taken her to exhibitions and fairs in Europe and the United States, including Maison et Object in Paris and Ecobuild in London. As she continues to work with bark cloth, she has “developed a certain respect for it and for what, after all, was once a living plant.”