Colin Sekajugo, This is Uganda at Sulger-Buel gallery

When we face a difficult situation, it is important to know how to react. To still enjoy #art from home with this current pandemic, many art galleries and museums have decided to open their doors virtually to their exhibitions and the Sulger-Buel gallery is one of them. Situated at the very centre of #London, the gallery exhibits and represents artists from #Africa and its #diaspora. Founded by Christian Sulger-Buel, formerly working in major banks around Europe, the gallery shows mainly #drawings, #photography, and #sculpture. They have extended their current #exhibition until the 31st May 2020 and offer a virtual tour of the space.

This is Uganda, by Collin Sekajugo is an exploration of the identity of #Uganda through its #community. Sekajugo wants to show the #beauty of his home country but also highlight the political and social issues that, in the end, also embody what makes Uganda. In using mixed media in his work, the #artist refers to #consumerism with locally sourced polypropylene and Uganda cultural #identity with the use of bark cloth #fabric. By showing the good and the bad of Uganda, Sekajugo wants to establish a conversation with its people and the rest of the world; and to raise #awareness on crucial issues such as education, youth unemployment and public safety.

Colin Sekajugo is a self-taught artist born in Uganda, lives and works in #Rwanda and Uganda. He made it his mission to bring art in the lives of Rwandan and Ugandan people. For example, he started a mission entitled Ivuka arts in Kigali, Rwanda in 2007, to boost and encourage young artists to express themselves through art. In the same spirit, Sekajugo also transformed the village of #Ndegeya, Uganda, in 2010 into an arts destination where people would discover the talents and resources of the country.

In this exhibition, Colin Sekajugo mirrors his actions in #community development, showing art strongly linked to African community, and African community strongly linked to art and using art as a tool to combat social issues of Rwanda and Uganda. Through his actions around Africa, Collin Sekajugo won a Human Rights reward in 2019.