STATEMENT BY ARTIST –ERIA NSUBUGA ‘SANE’
The contemporary Ugandan Artist is talented, resilient and self motivated, despite his government offering no direct incentives for his/ her creativity. The Ugandan Artist receives little in the way of a head start as his ministry of Culture without a clear Cultural policy, does little or no ground work for the artist to get relevant opportunities into global art circles; hence the big global events like the Venice Biennale are virtually unknown to the Ugandan artist and the Ugandan artist is also unknown to many of these ‘big’ art events. The Artist here works alone, with two major challenges to his/ her existence in his/her own land: that of finding a contemporary relevance to the common man and; that of subsistence or financial viability. Scratching a living and barely making it is common place for the Ugandan artist. The political and economic landscape in Uganda does not recognize the important role that art can play in ‘Industrialisation’, cultural transformation and economic development. Culture and its role in societal development has not yet been truly underlined in Uganda, thus the Artist is typically an outcast, barely fitting in daily conversation.
Outside the geography of the Ugandan Artist’s homeland, the artist finds a challenge of how the rest of the world perceives this Ugandan art. Is it really African art? Is it merely borrowed from the neighbours from Central and West Africa? Is the notion of ‘contemporary African art’ a misnomer? Must the African Artist be confined to the mask art of West Africa from the nineteenth century or before? What is my contribution to world art? And what is contemporary African Art anyway? Where does one draw the line between art in Uganda’s history and art in our present times?

The Ugandan artist is confronted by a severe lack of exposure to the real Art world, and at the same time has to deal with the economic/ cultural conflicts of interest such as ‘Industrialisation verse as Deforestation’ in his workings. Who stands to benefit from the cutting down of all the forests here in order for sugarcane to be planted? The artist questions wonders whether we have to give up our delicate ecosystems in the forests; thus succumbing to more carbon dioxide and loss of many animal, insect and bird species in order for factories to be built or whether we can find a balance in between. And in addition, global warming, the invasion of the desert from the North, population explosion, deadly diseases such as Malaria, Aids and Ebola, remind us of the delicate balancing act that we must embark on in the coming years.
Moreover, Uganda is a landlocked country and many artists here find it difficult to find exposure beyond our own borders, much less outside the capital city, Kampala. Add to that the fact that few genuine art curators from major world art galleries or museums have been exposed to Ugandan Art. Clearly, the lack of exposure is on both ends of the scale.

Amidst all these challenges, the Ugandan artist must find his/her relevance. And no relevance can be underscored without exposure, no exposure without the media, and no media can be won over without a relevant message. This artist’s message is centred on how human activity is impacting our immediate surroundings namely nature. His paintings, and on occasion, sculpture and prints are comments on culture, nature, politics and seeks to show their interconnection and total reliance one to the others and vice versa.

ERIA SOLOMON NSUBUGA ‘SANE’ CURRICULUM VITAE
BOX 590, Entebbe, Uganda
+256 712 810976 +256 782 363948 +256 792 810976
eria.nsubuga@gmail.com ensubaga@yahoo.com

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY
2001-2004(Graduated 2008) Master of Arts in Fine Art (Sculpture),
Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
1998-2001 Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Arts (1stClass Honours), Margaret Trowell
School of Industrial and Fine Arts, Makerere University, Kampala
1979 Year of birth in Central Uganda

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2011-Date, Lecturer, Department of Art and Design, Faculty of Education and Arts, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda
2009-Date, Part-time lecturer, School of Commercial/ Industrial Art and Design, Nkumba University, Nkumba, Uganda
2008-2009, Lecturer, Nnaggenda International Academy of Art and Design, Namulanda, Uganda

PUBLISHED ACADEMIC BOOK
Eria Nsubuga, 2010, “The Integration of Monumental Sculpture in Landscapes: A Case study of Selected Kampala and Entebbe Landscapes”, Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbruecken, Germany

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011, “THE ‘GOSPEL’ OF EVOLUTION”, AFRIART GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2010, SOLO EXHIBITION, GALERIE AKKU, AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
2009, “BEAUTY IN NATURE OR THE PLEASURES OF A BANANA REPUBLIC”, TULIFANYA GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2009 GALLERY 122, HANG IT, NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA.
2007 “NATURE IS...” ALLIANCE FRANCAISE/UGANDA GERMAN CULTURAL SOCIETY, KAMWOKYA, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2005 “JOGOO POLITICS”, TULIFANYA GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2004 “ACHOLI STORY”- PICKINGS FROM THE NORTHERN UGANDA WAR SITUATION, ALLIANCE FRANCAISE, KAMPALA
2003 SECOND SOLO EXHIBITION, TULIFANYA GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2002 FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION, TULIFANYA GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 FLORENCE BIENNALE 2011, FLORENCE, ITALY
2011 EAST AFRICAN ART BIENNALE, DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA
2009 TULIPAMWE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS EXHIBITION, FRANCO NAMIBIAN CULTURAL CENTRE (FNCC) AND GOETHE ZENTRUM, WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA
2009 “MANGFOLDIGHEDEN I MODERNE, AFRIKANST KUNST” CENTRE FOR KULTUR OG UDVIKLING (DANISH CENTER FOR CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT), THORUP HEDEVEJ 3, DK-9339 DRONNINGLUND, DENMARK.
2008/2009 “AFRICA NOW! EMERGING TALENTS FROM A CONTINENT ON THE MOVE”, WORLD BANK MAIN COMPLEX, WASHINGTON, USA.
2008 “ART FROM UGANDA”, VISION GALLERY, CHANDLER, AZ, USA.
2008 “ORIGINAL PAINTINGS FROM UGANDA”, IRON HORSE GALLERY, PARK CITY, UTAH, USA.
2008 ART-A WHIRL, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA.
2007 “VISIONS FOR HUMANITY”, CARIBBEAN MUSEUM CENTER FOR THE ARTS, ST CROIX, US VIRGIN ISLANDS, USA.
2007 “FOCUS ON EAST AFRICA”, RAHUSET EXHIBITION HALL, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
2007 FABRICA: LES YEUX OUVERTS, MILAN TRIENNALE, MILAN, ITALY
2007 FABRICA: LES YEUX OUVERTS (PART OF SHANGAI e-ARTS FESTIVAL), SHANGAI ART MUSEUM, SHANGHAI, CHINA
2006 FABRICA: LES YEUX OUVERTS (COLORS (MAGAZINE) NOTEBOOK EXHIBITION), CENTRE POMPIDOU, PARIS, FRANCE
2006 “AFRICAN EXPERIENCE”, HOUSE OF PHILLIPS GALLERY, AUSTRALIA
2005 “LESSEDRA INTERNATIONAL PRINT EXHIBITION, SOFIA, BULGARIA
2004 “NETTETAL” BARKCLOTH EXHIBITION, HINSBECK, GERMANY
2004 THE BREATHING BIJLMER FESTIVAL, O-NIVO RESTAURANT, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
2003 OLYMPIC ART AND SPORT CONTEST 2004 EXHIBITION, NATIONAL MUSEUM, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2003 EAST AFRICAN BIENNALE, DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA
2002 TEXT MESSAGES, DAVID YOUNG GALLERY, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, U.K.
2002 DISCOVERIES 5: YOUNG ARTISTS’ SHOW, TULIFANYA GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA
2001 WOMENS’ WORLD EXHIBITION, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY, KAMPALA, UGANDA

TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS/ RESIDENCY AWARDS/ ART WORKSHOPS
2011 EAST AFRICAN ART SUMMIT, NAIROBI, KENYA
2009 TULIPAMWE INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS’ WORKSHOP, OKAKARARA, NAMIBIA
2004 OBERPFALZER KUNSTLERHAUS, KEPPEL VILLA, SCHWANDORF, BAVARIA, GERMANY
2003 EAST AFRICAN RESIDENCY (KUONA TRUST), NAIROBI, KENYA

ART/ACADEMIC AWARDS
NOV 2005 JOINT 1ST PRIZE WINNER GERMAN TECHNICAL SERVICE (G.T.Z.) 30TH ANNIVERSARY ART COMPETITION, G.T.Z. OFFICES, NAKASERO, KAMPALA, UGANDA
DEC 2003 WINNER, THE ARTISTS’ CHOICE AWARD, ART FOR ABATO CHARITY, (ABATO ROCKING HORSE EXHIBITION) KAMPALA, UGANDA
NOV 2001 ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY OLD BUDONIANS CLUB, KAMPALA, UGANDA
OCT 1995 KING’S COLLEGE BUDO ACADEMIC PRIZE (O’ LEVEL) FOR ART, KING’S COLLEGE BUDO, UGANDA

PUBLICATIONS CONTAINING ARTIST’S WORK
2011 Contributing articles in START online art magazine, Kampala Arts Trust, Kampala, Uganda
2011 Cover art and inside book, Transition magazine Issue #104, W.E. Du Bois Institute of African and African American studies, Harvard University, Indiana University Press, U.S.A
2009 “Moderne Afrikansk kunst/ Mangfoldighed og Udvikling”, med stotte fra Center for Kultur og udvikling (cku) (Danish Center for culture and development (dccd)), (afro-art.dk), Dronninglund, Denmark
2008 “Africa Now! Emerging talents from a continent on the move”, World Bank Art Program/General Services in partnership with the World Bank Vice Presidency for the Africa region and the Biennale of contemporary African art Dak’Art, Senegal, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
2008 Cover art for the book “New Agenda for African Development: G8 Summit in Hokkaido and TICADIV”, written and edited by Eiichi Yoshida. 2008. Publisher: IDE, Chibashi, Japan
2007 Cover art for The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank book “Global Monitoring Report 2007 Millennium Development Goals Confronting the Challenges of Gender Equality and Fragile States”, The World Bank Art Program, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
2007 Cover art for Magazine of “Ajiken World Trend” June, July and August 2007, the Institute of Developing Economies/ Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Chiba, Japan
2005 4th Lessedra World Art Print Annual 2005 Catalogue, Sofia, Bulgaria

SOME WEBSITES CONTAINING ARTIST’S WORK

www.sanesdemocrazedafrica.blogspot.com
www.thefuschiatree.com/artwasane
www.en.artists.de/artwasane.html
http://eria-nsubuga.fineartamerica.com
http://artwasane.livejournal.com
www.kampala-city-guide.com/./Nsubuga/
www.africancolours.com/eriansubuga.htm
www.facebook.com/artwasane
www.artslant.com/./55873-eria-nsubuga
www.saatchionline.com/profile/33354
www.startjournal.org/./eria-sane-nsubuga/

Portfolio: