The men behind the new notes

May 28, 2010

Like any new item, the recently issued banknotes have excited the public. Some people exchange them for the old ones at a fee.

By vision reporter
Like any new item, the recently issued banknotes have excited the public. Some people exchange them for the old ones at a fee.

There are a number of things that make the new banknote series different from the previous ones.

Apart from being beautiful, the new notes are varnished, so they do not become tattered easily. And they have special security features that easily distinguish them from possible counterfeit.

Behind these attractive banknotes is a group of six artists, who worked in consultation with the Bank of Uganda currency team to produce them.

They include Prof. George Kyeyune, Patrick Sserunjogi, Raymond Nsereko and Joseph Sematimba (all lecturers at Makerere University). The other two are Gen. Elly Tumwine and Emmanuel Mutungi (a lecturer at Kyambogo University ).

Operating under their company, Art and Design Consultancy Consortium, the six were approached by Bank of Uganda about two years ago to come up with a design concept. According to Tumwine, they were asked to design notes with a Ugandan character.

He said they did a situational analysis and found that though Uganda is promoted as “Gifted by Nature”, there were not many visuals to prove this.

“We also felt that although Uganda’s history is rich, it is not brought out well in the public and schools,” he said.

After several meetings and consultation, two themes were selected; “Uganda through the times” and “Gifted by Nature”.

After that, the group travelled throughout Uganda, to identify material culture unique to each region and that would be representative of all.

They took photographs of permanent features and collected those which are portable.

“We wanted to achieve regional balance because the previous notes lacked consistency and a sense of family,” explained Sserunjogi. “So, we designed banknotes related to each other and with a tourism value.”

The artists placed figures and designs in various places. After more discussions and the initial print, the draft was brought back to the artists for corroboration.

Gen. Elly Tumwine
He trained as an artist at the School of Industrial and Fine Arts at Makerere University, majoring in History of art and painting.
He taught art in a number of schools, until 1978 when he joined the fight against Idi Amin’s regime. He later joined the 1981-86 war that ousted Milton Obote. When they captured power in 1986, he resumed his art.
While serving as the Army commander, he designed the flag, emblem and the green camouflage uniforms of the army, which were produced by Nytil in Jinja. Elly Tumwine revived the Uganda Artists Association and is currently its patron. He is also the chairperson of the Creations Ltd, based at Nommo Gallery, Nakasero.

Joseph Sematimba
He is a designer with interest in the fine arts and various design disciplines. Design has always been his main pre-occupation, focusing on design, research and management. Graduating at Makerere University in 1992 in graphic design, he proceeded to University of Technology, Sydney (1994-1996), where he pursued a Masters in Design. He has been teaching at Makerere School of Industrial and Fine Art since 1997. In addition to design, he also engages in painting and sculpture.

Raymond Nsereko
He is a designer with five years experience in design projects like branding, visual communication research, development, monitoring and evaluation. He is a lecturer at Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art at Makerere University, specialising in computer aided graphic design (CAD); 2D and 3D branding and visual communication design and health.

Patrick Sserunjogi
He is an assistant lecturer at the Department of Industrial Art and Design, School of Industrial and Fine Arts Makerere University. He specialised in graphic design, advertising design and print making. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts (Fine Art) and a post-graduate Diploma in Education. He won a special prize diploma in Youth Art from Oslo Norway , A diploma in The Norwegian International Print Triennale, and a certificate of participation in curriculum development and pedagogy.

Emmanuel Mutungi
He is an artistic expert with 14 years of experience, working as a director of the national art gallery. He is also an expert in application of art for community and communication interventions. He has five years of experience as a University lecturer in sculpture at Kyambogo University.
He is also a PhD candidate in examining art and crafts management towards poverty reduction and gender disparities and benefits at household level in Uganda.

Dr. George Kyeyune
He is interested in sculpture and painting and holds a PhD from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (2004) and a Masters from Maharaja Sayajiraho University of Baroda, India (1990). He is currently the Dean, School of Industrial and Fine Arts, Makerere University.

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