Art Stories

The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of art’s audience. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public. —Henry Geldzahler, art critic
Why use this quotation when I’m trying to encourage the “public” to engage the arts? I’m determined, along with many others, to make art accessible to the public. One fantastic resource that I would like to highlight this month is START, an online journal of arts and culture— http://startjournal.org/.

With START, a publication of Kampala Arts Trust, you’ll find a high quality, very accessible resource that will allow you to explore and learn all about the local art scene in Uganda. Here is a great place to begin your own artistic journey into local events, interviews with artists, different perspectives, demonstrations of art techniques, and various unique angles on art and culture.

I met with Thomas Bjørnskau, who is the editor of START. He said that the vision of START is to add journalistic objectivity to the art scene so that arts and culture of all types are subjects for exploration and conversation. The first four START journals were printed, but beginning with Issue No. 5 (December 2010) the new editions are released online at the end of each month. The goal is that they are released the week prior to START “First Sundays”—an informal gathering for artists and anyone interested in the arts, currently being held at Cayenne Bar and Lounge, the first Sunday of every month beginning at 5pm.

Each edition includes articles from any of the following categories: a special analysis, an interview with an artist, an in-depth art critique, a demonstration of an art technique (often this is video format), a piece on collecting art, an updated summary of art/culture events, a space for free expression where readers and artists can post their opinions, and/or an article on the diaspora (relevant art or artists who are outside of Uganda). While I personally find all the articles interesting, you may find different things relevant based on your level of art interest. If you are an art teacher, you will love the “techniques” demonstrations; if you love interacting with artists personally, check out the events feature. Anyone who is more serious about what is going on in East Africa’s fine arts’ scene will appreciate the depth and expertise of the writers and the variety of topics that are covered each month.

Thomas used the metaphor of a growing spiral in describing his hopes for START’s future. The journal has begun by focusing on Uganda’s fine arts, but Bjørnskau hopes that as the circle grows larger and larger, they’ll keep adding a wider range of arts and culture in Uganda, and then expand to include more arts and culture of East Africa. This is an ambitious goal, but based on the current energy and quality of the writers and artists who have invested in the journal, I’m hopeful that START will be a real base of quality analysis and exposure for arts and culture in East Africa.

For those of you already clued into the START journal, Thomas shared a couple goals for the next year that will add even more depth and exposure to Uganda’s current art scene.

1. Annual Journal: The START team hopes to produce a printed volume that includes special articles and interviews (and color reproductions of art works). The annual journal will allow for more in-depth art criticism as the online format focuses on brief, easier reading.
2. Biennale (March 2012): Bjørnskau is also on a team of art colleagues who are helping to host the East African Art Biennale which has been held since 2003 in Dar Es Salaam. This is the first time the Biennale collection will go on tour, the only travelling Biennale in the world. The team is making plans to have the collection of 200-300 art works from about 100 artists (around 50 of those pieces made by 15 Ugandan artists) make a circuit in Kampala’s galleries before moving on to Rwanda.

While I highly recommend various venues and events for exposure to arts and culture in Uganda, I feel very positive about the role START has to play in connecting artists and their arts with a wider audience. Though you can never quite replace seeing art in person, the analysis, criticism and interviews of real artists and art critics adds a depth and significance to the works of art and to the art community here in Uganda and beyond.