Since 2008, Bayimba Cultural Foundation has organised a number of workshops and trainings to spur the development of the arts and cultural sector in Uganda. Whereas most workshops were organised for artists to enhance their creativity and artistic skills, Bayimba Cultural Foundation also recognises the need to contribute to a strong and professional body of arts journalists in Uganda. It therefore resolved to organise training for Ugandan arts journalists with the aim of equipping established arts journalists with further skills.

The arts journalism training will be held during the week prior to the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts that is scheduled for 13th-18th September, 2011. During the training, participants will be preparing their articles, blogs and TV/radio items using the skills acquired. Articles will be published in the Bayimba Festival Newspaper.

Bayimba Cultural Foundation herewith invites arts journalists and Bloggers from Uganda that:

• Are interested in Arts
• Are willing to commit for the duration of the workshop
• Are eager to learn
• Have published at least 4 articles on the arts
• Have been involved in the production of an Arts program – that aired
• Have their own working equipments like Laptop and Camera

If you are interested in participating in this exciting training, you are kindly requested to submit the following information by 01th September, 2011 to the address below (in case you submit your application by email to Info@bayimba.org. please limit your submission to 5MB):

• A completed entry form (download).
• A profile/short biography (max. 800 words) with recent picture(s).
• A sample of published articles about the arts (min. 3 articles).
• A motivation for your participation in the training (max. 500 words).

Bayimba Cultural Foundation will confirm receipt of your entry form.

Note: International Applications are also welcome. Applicants have to indicate that they are willing to pay for their air travel and accommodation.

For inquiries about the Arts journalism workshop email to: media@bayimba.org

Disclaimer: Bayimba Cultural Foundation fully respects and protects copyright of artistic submissions

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• Bayimba Regional Festival of the Arts – Mbarara
• Date: 25th of June 2011
• Venue: Independence Park
• Time: from midday to midnight
• Entrance: FREE

The Bayimba Regional Festival of Arts is an offshoot of the annual Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts. It is part of the Bayimba Cultural Foundation’s initiative to take the arts to the people and make the annual festival a national event.

This year’s Festivals of the Arts started with Jinja , Arua   and now coming to Gulu on 28^th May  2011 at TAKS CENTRE. Bayimba will give the region’s alternative musicians- the ones that can actually carry a tune without the aid of CD playbacks- a platform to show off their musical genius.

Joining the Gulu regions finest who will thrill the audience include Culture man, Undugu band, Gulu Theatre Artists company Limited among others who will take to the stage from Mid day till Late in the night.

The festival will also be honoured by performances from the participants of the Bayimba Street Theatre Workshop in Kampala, the Youth Hip Hop Gulu workshops, Comedians , Heritage and many others talents from Gulu.

There will be lots of Art exhibitions and Fashion shows by Gulu finest visual artists and Fashion designers.

Bayimba Regional Festival of Arts is brought to you by Bayimba Cultural Foundation in partnership with Hivos, Common Wealth Foundation, STICHTING DOEN, Kingdom of Netherlands, Uganda Telecom, Pilsner, NBS TV, Rwenzori water, MEGA FM, Radio King, Choice FM, TAKS Centre and  L’ insitut Francais.

Entrance : FREE

Please contact Grace Atuhaire: 0718-932048 or media@bayimba.org for further information.

“I write and perform my music in Alur-jonam, my Luo mother tongue together with other languages like English and Kiswahili” said Suzan Kerunen. “Kampala’s new voice“ by the East African Newspaper.
As a Ugandan singer, Suzan Kerunen started her career as a young girl with her two sisters in an all girl group “Soul of Africa”. She later launched her solo career with her debut Album NIMEFIKA a Kiswahili term meaning “I have arrived”. With a mix of Njige, Agwara and Ndara drums from West Nile, the Nimefika album… truly made up of rich African sounds fused to describe an African Soul earned Kerunen a double nomination with the KORA ALL AFRICAN MUSIC AWARDS in BEST EAST, together with NGOM, a song that was nominated for Africa and African Artist 2008/09 respectively. “The stories I tell are those shared with me by the children I met at the World Vision [returned child soldiers] camp in Gulu. Touched by the way the children laughed and played in the camp, the songs they sang despite the sad stories that tore their lives apart. This led me to co-write “Amani” a simple and uncomplicated African opera in order to tell the stories of these children through their own eyes… Suzan Kerunen.
Kerunen’s second album “LEK” meaning “Dream” celebrates African diversity and freedom of expression. The album explores sounds of the talking drum (Tamur) from West Africa, African Marimbas (Akogo), Tube fiddle (Ndingidi), Wind instruments and Guitar played by great artists like Kinobe Herbert, Michael Ouma, Hakim and Jude Mugerwa of the internationally acclaimed Ugandan band Soul Beat Africa.
“Suzan Kerunen is a musically great and arguably one of themost respected world music artists in Uganda” The Daily Monitor
Newspaper.

Suzan’s new website: www.suzankerunen.com

My mind spoke back calmly ”it is Uganda’s first time too” when their facilitator Warner Van Wely whispered to me “this is their first time”

IPS building commonly known as Jubilee insurance building is a stress free place as people walk by freely. Clad in casual clothes, yellow stockings and gloves, the first team crawled out of their hiding place, they made all kinds of movements. They looked up to the sky, following something imaginary. They were a team of five with a leader who guided them in these coordinated movements. They lay on the flow, kissed a pole; all this was done with rhythm and energy.

“Bano bali nkujjaga yawwa?” (What drugs are these people taking) muttered a passerby …rather amused. Cars slowed down as people tried to figure out what was going on.
Kampala wondered what was happening.

“If people will not come to theaters to watch the plays, we shall bring the drama close to them. And we all know it as Street Theatre” commented Michael Wawuyo, The facilitator of the Street Theatre performance. Ugandans are rather humble people as they simply “smile” when tickled.
Last Friday, 19th march they stood in shock and amazement.

“What we want is a reaction, it doesn’t matter what kind of reaction” said Andre Dienske, the Street Theatre workshop facilitator.

Boda boda cyclists converged and happily paid attention. ”abo bakola advert” (those people are doing an advert) one confidently noted. The others laughed at him saying there are no cameras so he was just foolish.

After an hour of performing these brilliant acts, the team started to make way back to their shelter and the second team got set to also pull off their act. The second group brought even more energy to the street as the run across the street, and engaging with the audience.
Unlike the first team, their movements were not as coordinated as they did not stick together.
They each did their own thing but still managed to keep the story in mind up. The first team then started a song; they coordinated the voices well even if the lyrics were best known to them alone.
Faisal Kiwewa simply smiled followed the teams and tried to understand the stories they were telling. He is the director at Bayimba Cultural Foundation.

The performers then slowly descended to their hideout. When I asked Rehema Nanfuka about her performance; she said it was engaging, entertaining form the beginning to the end. Albert Ssempeke Bisaso also commented that it was tough and that they had injuries.

“It is mind boggling, there is a thin line between madness and reality” said Michel Wawuyo smiling. Together with the audience, organizers and performers, I agree, ”Uganda is ready for Street Theater’’

Elizabeth Kemigisha

To develop the arts sector as a whole, Bayimba Cultural Foundation has organised a range of workshops aimed at introducing artists to new arts disciplines, developing their artistic skills and promoting inter- and intra-disciplinary artistic collaborations. To contribute to the enhancement of visual arts in Uganda and to the viability and compelling presentation of the visual arts to the general public, Bayimba Cultural Foundation resolved to organise a professional training workshop for curators, gallery owners and managers.

The workshop – scheduled for 4-14 May 2011 – seeks to increase the understanding of the role and need for curatorial practice and to develop curatorial skills of selected participants. The workshop will be led by Patrick Verstraete who has 12 years of experience as a contemporary arts curator. The workshop will combine theoretical knowledge with practical application of knowledge acquired. Each participant will prepare an exhibition by the end of the workshop which will be presented during the Cultural Week during the 3rd week of May, 2011.

Bayimba Cultural Foundation herewith invites interested curators, gallery owners and managers to express their interest in participating in the curator training workshop. You are kindly requested to submit the following information by 15th April, 2011 (in case you submit your application by email, please limit your submission to 5MB):

• A completed entry form (download).
• A profile/short biography (max. 800 words) with recent picture(s).
• A motivation for your participation in the training workshop (max. 500 words).

Bayimba Cultural Foundation will confirm receipt of your entry form. A professional team will assess the submissions received and decide which individuals will participate in the curator training workshop.

Disclaimer: Bayimba Cultural Foundation fully respects and protects copyright of artistic submissions

This is the poster for the Bayimba Regional Festival of the Arts that will take place on the 26th of March 2011 in Jinja

“With acting you don’t exaggerate; now with this training, I have learn’t how to open and control my body parts to actually get better at expressing myself in my acting career; I now know how to be loud but not shout” says Prince, (model and actor) a participant in the Street theatre workshop.

The street theatre workshop started on 21^st march and is ongoing till 26^th march 2011, facilitated by the international acclaimed artists; Andre Dienske and Warner Van Wely, organised by the Bayimba Cultural Foundation at the Uganda National Museum.

“With poetry, you can write an experience without writing a script; with Street theatre, things are done spontaneously; it’s very abstract like writing poetry and have loved it” says Otim( a poet), another participant.

Bayimba Cultural Foundation is focused on preparing the Ugandan communities to the idea of promoting their own art and cultural values – looking at creativity, art and culture as a driving force to social and economic development – with the presentation of the actual art and creativity, we will broaden individual minds and open up to a social culture with all the required disciplines – theatre singers and dancers, mimes and original artists, small simulations of everyday activities, with performers dressed in colorful clothes and masks, because we believe that if we use Street Theatre – we are bond to several different sets of possibilities than the conventional everyday theatre spaces.

“I have learnt how to create without thinking by using the daily basic elements or actions that we do to create dance moves, build up on my creativity with stage props” says Desire (dancer and calligrapher) another participant at the workshop

Bayimba Cultural Foundation is a vibrant creative arts industry in Uganda that is professional, creative and viable and contributes to social and economic development in Uganda and East Africa and  Street theatre workshop is one of their annual activities among the Cultural Economics workshop and their Regional Festivals of Arts that are carried out all over the country that lead to the Bayimba International Festival of Arts; for more information on how you can participant in either of the activities: visit www.bayimba.org.

“Street Theatre elements; of non verbal like body usage to communicate have been very inspirational to me. I will be using this knowledge to build up my creative props on stage; so grace yourself to more laughter on Barbed Wire comedy nights; it’s going to be more hilarious” affirms Okato,( an actor and comedian) a participant at the workshop.

This workshop is supported by Common Wealth Foundation, HIVOS, the DOEN Foundation and organised in partnership with the Uganda Museum.