I am often asked Andrew, where is your studio? And my reply in most cases is: "The streets are my studio".

In response to Maestro Simon Njami's task for Kampala Bienniale  2020 "Get up-Stand up', I propose to appropriate Mongani Wally Serote title of his book of poetry "History is the home address ".  Because of the COVID pandemic we had to abandon the streets and seek refuge in a virtual space that we modeled around a 'shebeen', an informal bar commonly known in townships, a typical place for people to interact. 

In this virtual space, we must discover the address of human hope that will encourage us to "Get-up and Stand-up" whatever the cost.

In a more and more competitive and globalized art world, I want to help the apprentices give birth to these new and necessary objects, whether these objects are of pure forms or pure concepts or an imbrication of both.

The very pragmatic notion of the studio is to help the apprentices produce works that allow them to align their inner selves, their deepest convictions, with the stakes of a career strategy. In order to enable the participants to bring out what is both unique, universal and indispensable in their art, we worked on identifying, structuring and consolidating the personal, social and political issues that underlie their artistic production.

ANDREW TSHABANGU

Apprentices in Tshabangu's Studio

The following young artists have been selected and will be participating as apprentice in Andrew Tshabangu's studio. When international travel allows after the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, they will meet and work on their collective art piece in August 2020 and exhibit during KAB20. At the moment they are interacting online through Zoom and Whatsapp.

AHMED HAMIS (Uganda)

Hamis a an 23-year old artist, photographer, breakdancer and dance teacher. He is a volunteer member of Breakdance Project Uganda, a local nonprofit youth organization that uses breakdancing and other forms of hip hop and art to promote positive social change and social responsibility. He actively travels and competes in street dance and art events within East Africa while also documenting the East African hip hop scene and daily life through photography.

CHRIS DENNIS ROSENBERG (Uganda)

Chris Dennis Rosenberg (1997) is a photographer whose fascination with photojournalism and fine art has led him to pursue a career in photography. He is currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he is exploring his interest in alternative communities within the inner city as well as the impact of environmental factors on social contexts. His portrayal of nature, people, and wildlife highlights his focus on the importance of coexistence in its many forms.

Originally from Kampala, Uganda, he acquired a Bachelor of Science in Multimedia and Animation (2019). His work has been recognized at the Uganda Press Photo Awards 2018 and 2019, he was runner up at the FAVT, KAS & GZK photography competition 2019, and he was shortlisted for the Alexia Student Grant 2019, a promising achievement for such a young photographer.

Through his work as an artist and photographer, he hopes to bring the interests and perceived peculiarities of marginal communities to a broader audience, thereby expressing our common humanity, through diversity.

ETHEL AANYU (Uganda) 

Ethel Aanyu (25) is a graduate of Makerere University who majored in painting, sculpture and jewelry. When at university she modeled for her friends that studied photography and this was her inspiration to venture in photography too and she shifted her career from painter and a jeweler to photography.

KASANGATI GODELIVE KABENA (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Kasangati Godelive Kabena was born in Goma / DRC In 1996. Trained photography and graduated in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa. She has repeatedly participated in group exhibitions in painting as photography. She is also interested in documentary, artistic photography and conceptual video.

Originally a painter, she discovered photography in 2016, which changed the way of perceiving herself and the world around her, just after a few months of exercising this profession, she participated in these first training and group exhibitions in photography.

TREVOR MUKHOLI (Uganda)

Trevor Mukholi (21) studies Literature and Languages at Kyambogo University. He started photography two years ago when he collaborated with artist Wandulu Timothy in his work "modern intellects" in KLAART 2018. This spurred his interest and that is how he began his early journey in contemporary art. He was involved in architectural photography with Doreen Adengo in "African Modernism" and has collaborated with Wandulu Timothy to produce modern intellects amongst other projects yet to be exhibited. 

TSHEPO MOLOI (South Africa) 

Tshepo Moloi, is a Johannesburg based documentary and street photographer who focuses on topics such as migration, belonging, identity and community. Tshepo Moloi (1992) was born in Johannesburg, but grew up in the rural place of Mpumalanga (Daggakraal). He became interested in photography and film-making, and started photographing and experimenting around his community. In 2016, he was part of a group show ‘Fluxus Now’ by Space Space Gallery, Johannesburg. In 2017, he joined Market Photo Workshop, where he completed a photography foundation course and his work was showcased for a group show Photo Workshop 17. In 2018, he showcased with Howdy by Space Space Gallery, Switzerland. In 2019, he showcased at ‘Spring Exhibition’, Julie Miller Art, Johannesburg, ‘awayfromthekeyboard.gif’, A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town. His work was published on Africanah.org, The Kiosk of Democracy, Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) and a photographic talk ‘Pretoria Street Photography, Pretoria. 

WINIFRID LUENA (Tanzania) 

Winifrid is a Tanzanian visual artist working across various mediums including paint, photography, collage, digital design and illustration. He is based in Dar Es Salaam and has since 2o16 been involved in various exhibitions both in Tanzania and abroad. Luena has won numerous awards including the Absa L'Atelier award, 2019. Luena is interested in psychological and sociological application of art. He uses art to explore different themes related with individuality, identity and norm of everyday life from people and places around him. 

Tehan Ketema (Eritrea /USA) 

A child of the diaspora, Tehan Ketema is a first generation photographer born and raised in the Bay Area by way of Eritrea.
Since she was a teenager, Tehan found herself competing in local poetry slams; she went on to be a part of the media crew for over five years at Brave New Voices, an international slam poetry competition. Through her passion for community-oriented arts, Tehan was accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a full-tuition scholarship as member of the OMAI First Wave Urban Arts & Hip Hop program. In her final year at the university, Ketema’s work was chosen to be featured in galleries across Madison, WI as well as in online literary and photographic platforms. She was also a collaborator in the arts education restructuring of the First Wave Program.

Though her background implies a strong sensibility in the arts education and communication fields, she received minors in digital studies and studio art photography which catalyzed her admission into the University of Arizona’s prestigious Photography and Video Imaging Program. Ketema’s work interrogates the intersections of identity politics as it relates to her own; as a child of the East African diaspora, she questions home and what it means to be a part of a generation of refugees and immigrants. With this, Ketema often employs digital portraiture photography and  erformance poetry jointly; she believes these mediums are a reflection of one another, doing what the other cannot so as to provide access to a story beyond the scope of either’s individual tradition.