PROGRAMME
21ST OCTOBER TO 5TH NOVEMBER
Introduction
The 4th Edition of KLA ART is finally here. The excitement and relief we feel at finally being able to share this with you can not be described. And we say finally not just because of the pandemic, and the two lockdowns, and curfew but also because this festival has been in the works since March 2019 when we launched the open call for KLA ART Labs. KLA ART Labs was a very ambitious programme, seeking to connect the dynamism of public art making to the process-based and experimental nature of our residency programmes. From the open call we selected 11 artists representing a variety of disciplines and experiences, all with an expressed desire to explore what it means to make art in public spaces. Through the Labs programme we had a series of workshops on research, concept development, documentation, space making, and more. Participating artists also went on residency with our Arts Collaboratory network partners to experience creation and exhibition techniques in varied contexts. This would all culminate in the fourth edition of KLA ART, originally set to take place in August 2020. We all know what happened next.... With the pandemic came certain choices. We could move the festival online, stick to all original intentions, make the same work as planned and keep our original dates. But KLA ART has always been for the public, in public spaces, in places far outside what we commonly think of the art world. If we moved online, we perhaps would just be speaking to ourselves. Plus with our internet?! It just didn’t feel right. And so much didn’t feel right. The festival could instead be an outlet for the feelings the pandemic unearthed, or even amplified. COVID-19 restrictions have been a present part of our lives for almost 2 years, but even before the pandemic, finding welcoming public spaces in the city was a challenge. To gather in groups was restricted and in many ways, for many people, the city did not feel like our own. Our theme for this year’s edition is This is Ours emerged from questions around public space in Kampala. Some of the KLA ART artists explore what it means to claim a space as ours. Gloria, Liz , Nadunga and Kanyike start from what they already love; books, gardens, play, and photography. These become tools to carve out new spaces in the city, spaces amidst the chaos that for a moment transport people outside of/deep within themselves.
Other artists look at the barriers that stand in the way of people experiencing the city as theirs. Odur asks us what to do when minding one’s own business still does not keep your own home safe. Jim Joel and Charity, spotlight those they see as the true owners of the city -- the vendors that are omnipresent and embedded in our daily lives but are often pushed to the periphery. M and Martin use fiction to describe alternate realities that in turn invite us to reflect on our current moment anew. M explores how a folktale can be used to talk about unspeakable things, the things we are afraid to share in public. Martin uses the global covid response as a jump-off point to imagine what our localised future might look like, and how technology advancements in the ‘global North’ will continue to exclude the rest of us in more creative ways. Katesi asks us to consider how we take care of our environment. And that perhaps our mistake was in thinking the earth was ours to own instead of ours to care for, but through our climate crisis nature itself is correcting us on this matter. And lastly, Aloka looks at what it means to give up on the very idea of ownership of this country. That for some, their labour is the only thing they feel they own. And many choose to invest it elsewhere. Planning a public festival in these times has been a trying experience. This year, things are a bit quieter, a bit more contemplative, and a little less public than we initially imagined. Yet we are truly thankful to have had this platform to process this world shaking event, and to share what is ours with you. To Aloka, Charity, Gloria, Jim Joel, Kanyike, Katesi, Liz, M, Martin, Nadunga and Odur, and to the KLA ART team - thank you for your persistence and dedication to making this happen. This festival is truly ours. Teesa Bahana 32° East Director
Programme Overview Thursday 21st October – OPENING NATURE INVASION - Jacqueline Katesi RECIPES TO CLEANSE THE BODY AND CALM THE MIND, OR HOW TO LIVE WHEN YOU’RE DYING - Liz Kobusinge
Friday 22nd October BIRABI’S KALEIDOSCOPE - Alison Nadunga THE SILENCE - M
Monday 25th October KADUUKAGRAM - Jim Joel Nyakaana TUNNEL OF DELIGHT - Gloria Kiconco
Saturday 30th October MUWAWA - Odur Ronald READY FOR EXPORT - Trevor Aloka THIS IS ME - Kanyike Edgar THE BOOK OF OWAZ - Martin Kharumwa
3rd 4th and 5th November All Location Tours
Friday 5th November - CLOSING THE TRANSIENTS (performance) - Charity Atukunda
RECIPES TO CLEANSE THE BODY AND CALM THE MIND, OR HOW TO LIVE WHEN YOU’RE DYING Liz Kobusinge LOCATION
8th Street opposite Mukwano small gate, beneath the Club billboard
TOURS Thursday 21st October – OPENING Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Thursday 4th November
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Like many, plant care became a way for Liz to cope with the upheaval of the pandemic. The practice of nurturing a garden and watching it grow slowly, including the natural but painful experience of witnessing parts gently die has been a soothing experience . For KLA ART Liz shares a sculptural recipe, a meditative walk through a garden in the heart of the city. An oasis imbued with herbs and with healing properties. Every guest is encouraged to bring a contribution of their own, and to also take what they need as an act of collective healing .
NATURE INVASION Jacqueline Katesi
LOCATION
Location: Spear House, Kampala Road
TOURS Thursday 21st October – OPENING Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Thursday 4th November
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
In Nature Invasion, a large tree-like sculpture protrudes from Spear House, weaving its way along the building. As the effects of climate change become more present in our daily lives, Katesi’s woven 20 metre sculpture makes a clear statement that nature has had enough, and will reclaim the built environment whether we are ready for it or not. the shape this will take is forever changed by our our pursuit of development at all costs A form roots that model omulondo, one of our most Katesi’s work is a commentary, a warning or a promise, on nature reclaiming the built environment. Omulondo, ndibota. Short performance Nature strikes back climate change plastic as a representation of natural materials as a comment on climate change performance of sentient plant life taking back . man has been doing invasion in many ways - architecture result of that, plastics, disposed poorly loss of fertility
BIRABI’S KALEIDOSCOPE Alison Nadunga
LOCATION
Banda B3, Turn right after the Mogas oil depot
TOURS
Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Friday 22nd October
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Thursday 4th November
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Birabi’s Kaleidoscope is an origami installation, constructed as a call back to one of Alison’s most cherished toys as a child - the kaleidoscope. As an adult, Alison has been fascinated by our education systems and how they diverge from natural ways of learning and play. Through her work and her site in Banda, Alison is examining the intersections of informal and formal learning, putting them in valuable conversation with each other. With Birabi’s Kaleidoscope, Alison advances a way of learning through the collaborative process of making the installation, and the ideal of the kaleidoscope - the shifting patterns, the simple change of perspective leading to an entirely new image, and the constant wonder and awe of it all.
THE SILENCE M
LOCATION
Banda B3, Turn right after the Mogas oil depot
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Friday 22nd October
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM Thursday 4th November
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
As a fan of dystopian fiction, M would often wonder how certain end of the world scenarios might play out in a Ugandan setting - what if a zombie outbreak happened in Najjera? Or a plague in Naguru? When the COVID pandemic happened, some of those questions were answered. ‘The Silence’ is a digital animation of a mythical folk tale that explores how an average Ugandan might survive the apocalypse and calls us to question how far this fiction is from the truth.
KADUUKAGRAM Jim Joel Nyakaana
LOCATION
Keti Falao, Kawempe
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Monday 25th October
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Wednesday 3rd November
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
‘They know us, inside and out’ With Kaduukagram, the buduuka, the tiny shops that are cornerstones of each Kampala neighbourhood take centre stage. During the lockdown, Jim Joel was struck by how we ascribe importance to buildings according to their stature and status in the city, even though these buildings are often closed off and inaccessible due to bureaucracy. With Kaduukagram, Jim Joel stages a route between buduuka in his neighbourhood in Kawempe, contrasting their presence and community access with the imposing buildings of the city, highlighting which buildings actually serve our day to day needs.
TUNNEL OF DELIGHT Gloria Kiconco
LOCATION
The National Library, Buganda Road
TOURS
Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road
Monday 25th October
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Thursday 4th November
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Tunnel of Delight (T.O.D) presents a space of delight and wonder that invites you into a reading room presenting a collection of four zines (informal, self-published books) within a colorful fabric installation hosted at the National Library of Uganda, one of Uganda’s treasured archival spaces that houses, grows, and protects the voices of Ugandans. It offers a young writer and artist a chance to exist alongside Uganda’s historical and revered storytellers, academics, and writers. It offers you, the reader, an invitation to imagine what is possible through the power of sharing your story and through travelling through the stories of others. T.O.D recreates adventure through reading and invites you to experience libraries as welcoming spaces that encourage curiosity and exploration.
MUWAWA Odur Ronald
LOCATION
Tools and Machinery (opposite the Police station), Kabalagala
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Saturday 30th October
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Friday 5th November – CLOSING
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Odur reconstructs his living space, placing a hanging installation of sand cast aluminium shaped like bullets, in the centre of the room. The installation’s projectile shadows are cast all over the room, like the stray bullets and stray tear gas that have marked many with violence and death regardless of intention. In Muwawa, the fear of being an unintended victim is a looming presence even in spaces deemed private because violence is cheap and easy to reproduce without care.
READY FOR EXPORT Trevor Aloka
LOCATION
Tools and Machinery (opposite the Police station), Kabalagala
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Saturday 30th October
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Friday 5th November – CLOSING
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
In Ready for Export, Aloka stages an export clearance area as an inquiry into migratory labour practices among young people. Through paintings of children’s faces within the installation, he evokes a humanity that is often invisible in the transactions of the labour market. Using a palette of copper and gold, Aloka places personified objects and precious metals on pedestals to connect labour as a commodity to how young people view their own value, and what their value is worth to their own country.
THIS IS ME
Kanyike Edgar
LOCATION
Sosolya Undugu Dance Academy, Kabalagala
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Saturday 30th October
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Friday 5th November – CLOSING
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Led by curiosity, Kanyike’s work invites on his journey to find joy in his surroundings, and his exploration of the spaces that people create in the ordinary, that get them into the zone - a place where they find excitement, peace, flow, transcendence from the everyday. Through sound, photography and dance, Kanyike uses an open studio format to bear witness to how art lives in people in the city, and share how his own identity as an artist is inseparable from the community around him
THE BOOK OF OWAZ Martin Kharumwa
LOCATION
The Ethiopian Village, Kabalagala
TOURS Tour taxi leaves at 9:00 AM, Spear House, Kampala Road Saturday 30th October
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM Friday 5th November – CLOSING
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Martin’s contribution to KLA ART 21 is a few pages from his project “The Book of Owaz”, borrowing from a medieval devotional that was filled with creative illustrations of spiritual and seasonal guidelines of that time. These chapters cover the chaos of the time we live in with a focus on the deliberate exclusion of our population in the technological and social advancements of our time. He is interested in the theories around the next evolution of the homosapien that originated from East Africa, and what roles we are invited to play in the next chapter of the species.
THE TRANSIENTS Charity Atukunda
LOCATION
Downtown, Grand Corner House
TOURS Friday 5th November – CLOSING
Time: 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM
In The Transients, Charity draws inspiration from city vendors, whose resolve and resourcefulness in the face of ever changing rules is the only way they can make a living in this city. In a performance of commerce as second skin, set to a soundtrack of the bustling sounds of downtown Kampala markets, Charity draws our attention to how vendors physically carry the weight of their survival as they circumvent expensive rent, and over-policing. As she puts it, ‘you wear your hustle so it can’t be taken away’.
Produced by
With support from
www.klaart.org