Tukei Peter is to art in Uganda as what Bo Jackson was to sports in the U.S. As a multi-talented artist and all around fantastic human being Tukei excels in painting, photography and filmmaking. I first met him in 2009 at an art exhibition hosted by Alliance Française. And I’m pretty sure that we connected after remarking how strange the guest contemporary dancers were as they wildly gyrated against the displayed paintings and sculptures.
At the age of 8, after being inspired by the paintings his older brother was creating, Tukei began to take up sketching. Soon showing a natural talent in the arts he passionately strove to cultivate his abilities and ended up pursing a degree in art and photography at Makerere University. Now 25 years old, Tukei is able to support himself completely through his work as an artist. Each year he usually will work for about 4 months on making paintings then selling them, and for the last 8 months he lives off the profit from his paintings and focuses on developing his hobbies of photography and filmmaking.
Tukei has only been involved in creating films since 2009, but has already shown a natural talent. Check out the trailer below from his latest film entitled Kengere. It is a wonderful 20 minute short which uses stop-motion animation and traditional banana leaf dolls to tell the story of a Ugandan bicycle rider. If you’re in the Kampala Uganda area be on the lookout for updates about a film viewing party Ensigo will be hosting for Kengere around the end of January.
Here are some selections of his work:
kengere from t.u.k.e.izm on Vimeo.
P.S. To check out more of Tukei’s photography and art work please visit the ensigo facebook page.
One of my favorite non-profit organizations in all of Uganda is named the Uganda German Cultural Society (UGCS). They were founded 20 years ago with a focus on strengthening & promoting the growth of bilateral co-operations between the people of Uganda and Germany. However one of their main activities is the promotion of Ugandan cultural activities, which has included everything from sponsoring music festivals to holding art auctions. The great success of the creative industries in Uganda can be attributed in part to this amazing organization. They have also been a huge help to the Ensigo projects in Uganda, with their efforts in connecting us to many of this countries most gifted musicians and visual artists. One such visual artist that UGCS introduced us to is named Ronex Ahimbisibwe.
Ronex is a multi-talented sculptor/painter/printmaker who was born in Uganda in 1977. He is the first born of the six children and was named “Ahimbisibwe” a Runyankore (one of the dialects of Uganda) word meaning “let God be praised.” His artistic style is a rich, colorful blending of acrylics, basco paints, oils, prints and inks on diverse supports such as sisal, canvas, bark cloth, paper, cardboard and woods.
In his own words Ronex describes his art as: “My works bridge my experience, fantasies and reality. It’s hard to ignore one’s culture, as its part of me and gives identity at the same time. In most cases I put much emphasis on technique and am experimental in my art works in a quest to discover my own capabilities. My desire has always been to create works that curiously blend sophistication and naivety mainly inspired by curve painting and the female form.”
Here are some of the beautiful pieces he’s created:
To view more art by Ronex, or to contact him please visit his website at:
http://www.africancolours.com/african-colours-portfolios.php?id=138&pid=11
During my time in Guatemala in 2007 – 2008 I was blessed to meet and work with photographer/filmer/3D designer/all around gentleman, Ivan Castro Peña. Ivan’s natural talent as a photographer has taken him all over the world with exhibitions in New York City and Paris among the most notable. Additionally his talent as a 3D artist has led to work on films such as the Chronicles of Narnia, Chronicles of Riddick and Armageddon. Ivan generously offered his services as a photographer for the upcoming Ensigo benefit album, by taking photos of the vocalists we worked with in Belize and Guatemala. We had a blast working together, and collected many great memories, one of the funniest being driving through a very rough part of town in Belize City city with Ivan hanging out of the window snapping photo’s, which caused everyone on the street to start running because they mistook us for the CIA:)
Below is one of Ivan’s photo’s titled “La mujer de las flores.” Please check out more of his work at Ivan’s Flickr Page
On my most recent trip to Uganda I was introduced to the beautiful art of Eria “Sane” Nsubuga. Eria, or Sane, as he’s been nicknamed, says that his primary inspiration for the art he creates is his people. Elaborating on this inspiration he states that “the simplicity and uncalculated way of life of ordinary Ugandans, the boda bodas, taxis, the disorganized city, the beautiful scenery and the animal and plant life, the smiles of hungry and poor people, the bad politics, African love, and the African woman who incidentally is in my opinion the eternal symbol of our resilience in the midst of trials and tribulations.”
Here are some of the pieces he’s created:
To view more art by Sane, or to contact him please visit his website at: http://thefuschiatree.com/artwasane/
