Using art to liberate women

Feb 24, 2005

In the heat of advocating for women’s rights, so many strategies have been pursued, but art has not been among them

By Nathan Kiwere

In the heat of advocating for women’s rights, so many strategies have been pursued, but art has not been among them. Furthermore, the debates have mostly been centred on politics.

However, Amanda Tumusiime, couldn’t find her niche in the political jigsaw yet the desire to make her voice heard was overwhelming. Indeed the impact she is now making on the local as well as international scene cannot be ignored.

To Tumusiime, a PhD student at the University of witwatersrand, South Africa and with two masters degrees in art, there seems to be no limit.

Full of charm, fervour and passion, amanda’s animated countenance translates onto her canvas as she portrays her subjects in cool pulsating hues.

Most of her titles are Women empowerment, a thing she asserts is now part of her. “before 2000, i looked at social issues, now I look beyond the traditional woman carrying a basket on her head and hand her a book to read,” she says.
In one of her paintings, she portrays two female figures reading a book. The two are deeply engrossed in reading, a thing that is not uncommon in today’s promotion for the education of the girl child. The abstract painting was made using oil on canvas and the palette-knife strokes are visible. The two ladies show no detail of physical features yet a preschooler cannot miss their identity and concentration. It also shows a combination of cool tones in the background, which highlight the subject matter. The women are summarised in the application of colours of red, yellow and blue.


Amanda insists art lovers must begin to see more of such scenes showing women engaged in more positive activities like learning as opposed to viewing the erotic art of female nudes. Female nudes are some of the commonest appearances in most paintings...and sculptures too. This is because of the aesthetic nature of the female body, but more so because of deliberate eroticisation by many artists.

Amanda believes this does not mean well for women and so the need to cultivate a more positive image that will advance equal opportunity.

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