Laba Street Art Festival set to rock

 

 

If anything, it has got to be the annual Laba Street Art Festival; which is like the Christmas, Eid and Hanukah for artists of all art genres from Uganda and around the world. 

 

Well, it so happens that the day is tomorrow. Mackinnon Street in Nakasero will once again morph into an open air art gallery with music, fashion designs, sculptures, paintings, photographs, singers, dancers, sketch artistes – heck, you can never really exhaust them and neither can they be boxed into one fold.

 

Have you walked around Kampala over the last year and noticed some of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) dustbins which are colourfully painted or had the good look of graffiti? Well, if you did, the culprits are artistes from last year’s festival. 

 

KCCA allowed for the rubbish bins to be used as canvases. And that was not all at last year’s festival, which exhibited a great feeling of one great big family between the artistes and strollers. You could b-boy with the break dancers, get paint splatters on your shirt, get your face painted, a stranger could interest you in a photo and maybe if you are really lucky, you might even get to share someone’s muchomo, as food is one of humanity’s greatest art. 

 

And when the sun finally waves goodbye, there is the concert at the organisers’ Goethe Zentrum’s gardens, which is a major pull. The music will go on until midnight and you can expect to discover unknown, but immensely talented acts by stalking the stage.

 

So what does this year have in store? Well, for a start, this year’s festival, theme Open Studio, will challenge artists to give a sneak preview into the production of their art to the public and this should enhance interactions and discussions.

 

Who knows, perhaps a couple of people might take up a paint brush, a camera, a microphone or even a sewing machine once they see how it gets done? The festival will also involve the public in the art; a lot of works will need polythene bags or Kaveera as raw material. You can contribute towards both saving the environment and creating new art by coming along with waste polythene bags.

 

If you are an art lover or have just begun exploring the exciting world of art, there is no better place for you to start up, or replenish your collection.

 

The beauty of it is that it is like an art supermarket; no matter what you are into, you will definitely bump into it. “Laba means come, see and learn.

 

It is a platform for Ugandan artistes to showcase their art and be in touch with their local people,”  Dominic Muwanguzi says, an avid art criticwho is also part of the organisers. “The main attraction is that you get the entire artists together.

 

So here you get to see a blend of different genres of art, food, drink and theatre, which all gives the festival colour.”

In the past, now mainstream acts like Breakdance Project Uganda, Irene Ntale, Joel Sebunjo, Latif, Lillian Mbabazi and Stella Atal among others have participated. 

 

If you are the gallery-going type, the galleries to name in Kampala like Afriart, Nommo, Umoja and Karibu galleries will all be going outdoors tomorrow. 

 

This is the Ugandan art scene at its best and you can bet that Blitz will be there too! Besides, this just happens to be one sure way of seeing Uganda, as you can be sure all regions will be represented, in all sorts of forms.