FOCUS ARTIST OF THE MONTH :
By George Rodgers
T
ON:
Makundi
anzania is rich with artists of all caliber ranging from those tingatinga artists we’re all come acquainted to, to those more mainstream. They all represent a Tanzania from their individual views, backgrounds and beliefs. Dar Life caught up with the newly emerging artist Foibe who is taking a more active and vocal approach to showing her work.
Name: Foibe Makundi Profession: Visual Artist Born: 1974 I was born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 1974. My parents are both from the Marangu, Moshi region in Kilimanjaro. In 1987, my family relocated to Geneva, Switzerland. My interest in Art started in 2nd grade. At 18, I moved to the USA to pursue further studies in the Arts. In 1997, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Arts and in Art History from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I lived and practiced in the Washington, DC until 2009, when I returned back to Tanzania. I now live in Dar-es-Salaam and teach at Ardhi University. I am currently painting a serie on the of "Waswahili: Watu wa Pwani", part of continuous studies of East African people and Cultures. DL - What inspired you to start painting? Foibe - Wanting to get accurate depiction of people, kijiji, mlima. My older sister was good at drawings people. I asked her to help me... class mates found out, in proving them wrong, that it was I who did the work. Redrew the image...and again and again... realizing its getting better...then started drawings more and more... I think we started Sanaa period on 2rd grade, which became one of my favorite classes. In 1987, my family moved to 62 I Dar Life I MARCH 2020
2011
TA N Z A N I A N A RT
Geneva, Switzerland, where I began to receive a formal training in Fine Arts, along with the other Science and Math and Language courses. DL - How long have you been an artist? Foibe - 29 years. DL - When did you start? Foibe - 2nd grade in Chang'ombe primary school (8yrs old in 1982). DL - What is your genre of painting and what mediums do you like to use? Foibe - Life Drawings (Figurative/Portraiture, Still Life and Landscape). DL - Tell us about your first exhibition? When was it? Foibe - First Exhibit - Group Exhibit- Student's Work while in High School, International School of Geneva, Switzerland ... probably 1991 or 1992, First Solo Exhibit - Christensen Center Art Gallery, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN, USA – 1997.
