Radenko Milak arrives in Kampala to work with his apprentices in KAB18 #TheStudio programme
Milak’s images highlight the mechanisms through which our historic and cultural memory is formed in the media age. In doing so, he not only looks to major historical and political narratives but also draws on a patchwork of personal, popular stories.
Radenko Milak (image oktobarskisalon.org)
Radenko Milak, an artist born in Travnik (Yugoslavia), lives and work in Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The largest part of his artistic production consists of watercolours, mostly done on 100% cotton fibre 300gr Arches paper. His approach is very simple and generally based on a combination of black pigment and white paper. As a point of departure, he mostly uses various media sources like documentary photos, old newspaper, postcards, posters, movies… His works are made in series. He is particularly interested in the state of the image today, at the time of the digital revolution.
Radenko Malik – Studio 16th June – 26th June May 2018 at Afriart Gallery on 7th
Radenko selected the following five Apprentices to participate in his Studio:
Bogere Gilbert, illustration
Bogere Gilbert – Uganda
Gilbert Bogere a Ugandan artist who is at the start of his career as a freelance illustrator and
storyboard artist. He has been working with leading publishing companies in Uganda such as MK Publishers and Fountain Publishers. He is an alumni of the Margaret Trowel school of Industrial and fine art under Makerere University where he obtained a degree in industrial and fine art majoring in advanced drawing and painting.
Ntakky Bright, pen illustration.
Bright Ntaki Arinaitwe (Uganda)
Bright Ntakky Arinaitwe (31) is a Ugandan by birth and a graduate of Art and Design at Kyambogo University, Uganda. He is working as Creative Director at BETA Inspirations, an Art and Design company dealing mainly in mural illustrations and industrial graphics.
He considers himself an “excellent fine artist, graphic designer, creative writer and poet in spirited pursuit of knowledge and skills for global impact”. He says he generally has “an attitude and willingness to step out of his way to make others better than he found them.”
Ntakkyi is a published author of two books; “7:77 …theirs was a race against time.” a novel on the race of life, and “Contending for the Mastery” a motivational book on attitude, from birth to death, and he is now working on an anthology titled ‘My Country’s Call’ and a children series called BOOM-DEE-DOO.
In 2015 Ntakky won ‘HIT Best Fine Artist of the year award 2015” and was voted Author of the month at FEMRITE for the book 777 . Ntakky also runs a blog called Contending for the Mastery. He organises an annual show called BEYOND ART at National Theatre. His dream is to see it grow into an international platform where young people can come together and explore while they express their God given talents in an atmosphere of exclusive inspiration.
Fredrick Kitetu, sculpture with metal and wood
Fredrick Kitetu (Kenya)
Fred Musyimi is an upcoming artist living and working in Nairobi, Kenya. He was born in 1991 in Limuru, Kiambu county Kenya.
His art uses multi-media materials to develop a contemporary view on conceptualizing space, identity and social structures in an urban setting. Musyimi’s work explores alternative sub-cultures by association or independence. The puzzle of the city’s buzz inspires him to create art as an ideal visual archive for contemporary themes such as politics, social injustices and inequalities, massive corruption and huge public debt.
Musyimi’s work has been exhibited in group shows such as ‘SHIFT’ and Annual Cultural week at Kenyatta University in March October 2016 a solo sculptural exhibition at the Cave Limited gallery in Sept 2017 and a group show at the annual Manjano competition organized by the GoDown Arts Centre in March – April 2018
He is currently teaching graphic design at BuruBuru Institute of Fine Art since July 2017 to date.
Saint, Ocom Adonias, mixed media, 2017.
Ocom Adonias (Uganda)
The figurative artist and photographer Ocom Adonias, was born in Kireka in 1989. As his first tutors, his father and elder brother introduced him into the world of arts and greatly inspired him. His love for sculpture and painting evolved in Namilyango College and was heightened at St. Henry’s College Kitovu. In 2013 he graduated from Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts at Makerere University as a water colour major. The education at this school greatly influenced him as he learnt about the art and language movement of great artists such as George Kyeyune and Taga Nuwagaba.
Currently painting from Karewu Art Studio, he is working majorly in oils, watercolour and some other medium such as acrylics. His work engages in the realistic presentation of the lives of the common man and his heritage. The underlying intention is to tell stories about his experiences and the lives of people that he has met. His interest in the common man has led to current artistic research about his heritage and to the founding of his painting series “Karamoja Teso,” a project which is aiming to research and conserve the heritage. Drawing inspiration from the global politics currently Ocom’s work has had a dramatic shift into political commentary since 2017.About his artistic base, Ocom says, “My work is a journey of exploration in which other travellers are essential. An art of healing.”
Ocom has worked as a photographer too before he decided to concentrate on his painting career in 2014. He has participated in third CSO exhibition at Hotel African after his graduation. In 2014 he participated in the Sadolin Mabarti Art Challenge and emerged a winner for which he was awarded an exhibition in the Uganda Museum. He also participated in KLAART 2014 where twenty young artists where chosen to do an art work on Uganda’s commonest means of transport the BodaBoda for which he engaged the Karamojong street beggars in a performance and was highly applauded for this by Uganda leading Magazines like the Independent Magazine. He is also proud to have his work grace the cover of Uganda’s Arts Diary 2015. His work can be seen in Afriart Gallery and Diani Beach Art Gallery.
Odur, Untitled, metal.
Odur Ronald- Uganda
Odur is a visual artist Born in Uganda in 1992, studied interior design at Kyambogo university. He uses metal printing plates to execute new truths from everyday sights and characters in Kampala. From smog-filled yet alluring landscape to abstractions of faces, his use of shape, pencil graphite, papers, metal, chalk and charcoal encourages the viewer to look twice.
He has traveled with in the country, exhibited and attended workshops and artist talks with several organisations including 32 degrees east Ugandan art trust, KLA’ART LABS, the open doors artists talk, the art chart and many others.
Odur has also been involved in various art exhibitions for a cause such as the village art project which was aimed at supporting and creating awareness about fistula among women, the un seen me exhibition at the underground gallery to support the street kids. he also exhibited in the slum with the ghetto film project art exhibition supporting the children who live in the slums and many others. He has also been featured in the 2018 edition of the artist diary at 32 degrees east Ugandan trust.
Odur has currently ended his research about the life of women as refugees which he carried out in bidi bidi refugee settlement in northern Uganda. Through his creativity as a visual artist, he is creating visual expression on the lives and experiences of women as refugees which he beliefs can change the perspective and the way the women are seen in a refugee context in the society and their abilities. This was as a result of his continuous attendance of the open doors photography, artist talks and exhibition about the refugee policy in Uganda which inspired him to dig deep in the policies which he realised a difficulty of the policy in relation to women. Through his creativity, he is increasingly developing more concepts and ideas to his work to give it a unique and creative outlook.