Kizito’s quest to decolonise art education through paintbrush

His efforts in this campaign are partly captured in his six large scale paintings: Meditation One, Meditation Two, Garden of Eden, Memories, Tapestry and Story Tellers, that were displayed at his recent sole art exhibition titled Reflections at the Makerere Art Gallery in Kampala. In his work titled Story Tellers, Kizito tries to bring to the attention of his audience the importance of story tellers in African history, societies, and culture.

“Story tellers were the custodians of African history and culture. They were men and women respected in their societies. They did not have degrees as the graduates of western formal education system, but they were knowledgeable, had high level of integrity and performed their duties faithfully,” he tells Saturday Monitor.
“In this painting, I present the story tellers barefooted clothed in ordinary attires such as other people. The intention is to call upon today’s scholars to look at the indigenous knowledge systems of our fore fathers as a basis of understanding our ‘Africaness’ and our role in society as Africans,” he adds.

In Meditation One and Mediation Two, Kizito presents portraits of Africans in a mask form, playing music (the flute).
“The flute has been abstracted into geometrical shapes. The eyes of the musicians are fully closed in a deep situation of thinking and meditation. In pre-colonial Africa, music was not only about entertainment. It was also educational. People were educated through music, dance and drama,” he says.

“The musician, like a story teller, was a philosopher, who had to think critically about what was composed and its relevance to society. This work is a reminder to our musicians today to rethink about the content, the message conveyance of their music and its relevance to contemporary African cultures,” he added.
In Memories, Kizito tries to reconstruct the pride precolonial Africa had in the appreciation of the body of women.
“Beauty in Africa was not measured in terms of one small in size but rather in the way the body forms of the African woman fulfilled its biological roles. Because the woman was highly treasured as the source of life, every effort was made to ensure that her body was healthy,” he says.

“In this work, I try to remind the African women to be proud of their African body forms. We need to stop thinking that the small bodies of European bodies are the yardstick of measuring beauty in Africa,” he adds.
Under Reflections, Kizito is exhibiting a new body of works in painting, produced in the recent past. The exhibition was held from March 14 to 30, 2019.

Reflections as a theme emerged in an interview where he described his work as a practice of reflecting on his life experiences and surroundings. Reflections could equally be interpreted as a drive to his intense need to express his identity as an African.
The paintings on display, feature harmoniously bright beautiful colours applied in geometric shapes, decorative patterns and gestural human forms.

As an academic professional artist, Kizito draws inspiration from both traditional classical African sculptural forms and from western masters. He also draws inspiration from his local cultural social and economic experiences.
For instance, in his paintings of women, earthly colours such as red and brown that are near to the black skin colour of Africans, African eyes, geometric shaped garments looking like the Gomesi (Baganda traditional attire) and kitengi-like decorative patterns in the background are used to show his African identity.

Asked why there is need for decolonising of art education in Uganda, Kizito, argues: “I strongly feel that more than ever before, we need to decolonise art education. Art plays a vital role in all societies. Men are led and governed by the use of symbols. That’s why countries have national emblems, national anthems, flags and coat of arms. All these are art works. Art is the expression of society and if it is, then it must reflect the souls of the people where it is produced, where they are coming from and what they want to be today and tomorrow.”

“Through art, you can educate millions even those who can’t read and write. Art creates permanent symbols of meditation, celebration and remembrance which inspires millions. If we decolonise our art education systems, it will pave way towards decolonising the rest of our education system in our country,” he adds.

On his return from the University of Leeds (England) in 1968, Ngugi became a lecturer in the Department of English, University of Nairobi. At that time, most African countries had got their independence and there was a new literature.
“Some of us got together and said ‘let’s abolish the English Department’. We literally did not mean abolishing the study of English literature as such, we meant the re-organisation of the study of literature so that we have African literature, Caribbean literature, African-American literature… at the centre of the syllabus,” Ngugi says in the film titled Who Is Afraid of Ngugi (USA/Kenya, 2006).

Ngugi recalls that though there was resistance, it was eventually accepted.
“What we found was that this produced much better students. We were sure of their pace. From their confidence, they would relate more creatively with other literatures…,” Ngugi says in the 83-minute film directed by Manthia Diawara and produced by Ka-Yelema Productions.

Much as the English language is spread around the world and used as a tool for communication and development, any other language can play the same roles, Ngugi argues.
“…By identifying with other people’s languages and despising ours is a mental disease,” he says, adding: “One is actually despising one’s self.”

The documentary film was shot upon Ngugi’s return home in Kenya in 2004, after 22 years in self-imposed exile, after fleeing the repressive regime of Daniel Arap Moi. In the film, Ngugi reveals that some of the things that happened to him are in some ways captured in his book, Weep Not Child.

As to how the art education introduced by the British is affecting Uganda’s current education and labour market, Kizito, observes: “We need to be aware that art education in Uganda was not introduced willingly. It was a struggle between the missionaries and non-missionaries. The founder of formal art education in Uganda had resistance from missionaries and some colonial officers. While the white sisters introduced the art of knitting in their orphanages in Bwanda and Rubaga and the Church Missionaries Society did so at Gayaza, they did not want to introduce nonfunctional art to Africans. Many of them thought that African art was twinned to traditional African religions and therefore discouraged the teaching of art in their schools.”

“It took Margaret Trowell a lot of energy to convince the colonial government to allow her to introduce formal art education. If you look at the first art curriculum of formal education system introduced by the first generation of art teachers who of course were Europeans, it was rooted from English school curriculum. Student were made to study European art as the basis of understanding themselves and doing their art. They were taught European art renaissance, European masters. It took many years to introduce some studies on African art,” he adds.

“Today, a closer scrutiny of the art curriculum in our primary, and secondary education schools reveals that it is still based on western study of art. Little has changed. Many students in our art and design Institutions even don’t know the masters of art in their own land in terms of art history. Instead they know the European art masters of yesterday and today. Unfortunately, even some of the scholars on African art studies we have today understand African art from western lenses. This is a great concern,” Kizito says.

The proposal
“I am proposing a new form of art education that starts with understanding of the history of pre-colonial African art, an art education system that starts with understanding the pre-colonial aesthetics of our own localities. I am calling for the introduction of an art education system that serves first the needs of our local communities. I am calling for an art education system that is critical of what was introduced as formal art education system in our communities,” Kizito argues.
He says calling for an art system that empowers Ugandans to understand and appreciate their African environment is the way to go.

“I am calling for education art system that is conscious of our yesterday achievements and the challenges of toady. I am calling for a new art education system that will produce critical thinkers and practitioners,” he adds.
As to what difference this new art education will make, Kizito, says: “It will make our people to be critical thinkers and relevant to our society. It will produce a movement of people who have interest in continuing with a journey of decolonising art education systems in our country.”

Kizito’s paintings strongly project his life experiences and surroundings, his changes in approach of both the subject matter, and even style clearly show it. There is some kind of revolution in his use of decorative patterns, smooth gestural forms and brightened colour pallets. The styles also differ in a way that he sometimes uses realistic figures and in other instances uses completely abstract figures.

“My paintings are an expression of my life experiences, surroundings, my African identity and being a post-colonial era artist who has been influenced by my formal art education,” Kizito says.
Kizito believes that it is important for him to express his identity as an African.
“It is important because first and foremost, I am an African living and working in Africa. I have duty to propagate the artistic traditions of my fore fathers to use it to contribute to the knowledge of the global world. I can’t understand properly other people without first appreciating who I am as an African,” he says.

On why it is vital for local artists to produce works that are conscious of Uganda’s current realties, he says: “Artists have a role to play in nation building. In Uganda today, several approaches have been used to find solutions to our social, political and economic problems and many have not succeeded. Maybe it is now the time to look at art as another alternative that can be used to address our problems, to help us plan for the future unlike other means, we can creatively convey the intended message instantly and can be appreciated by all people generally.”
He says more than 95 per cent of Uganda art is bought by foreigners.
“This is very worrying. Future generations of artists will have to pay millions of money to go to Europe and America to see the visual contributions of their fore fathers in European and American museums,” Kizito laments.
Kizito says painting and sculpture are his favourite art forms.
“Colour and patterns are important elements of my work. Through their application and usage, I invite people to reflect,” he says.

Asked to describe that type of art he makes, Kizito, said: “My art is conscious of my yesterday, today and what I want to be in future. I want my art to inspire others. To give people a positive feeling about life and beyond about themselves as individuals and others. I want my art to also be a revelation of God’s creative gift he gives his people.”
As to what drove him into art and why he finds it interesting, Kizito, says: “From the very beginning of my life, I have wanted to be free and creative. Art provided me with the possibilities of achieving this. I was inspired to be an artist by my mother who introduced me to the art of basketry weaving and mat making. I also appreciate the support I got from Fr Joseph Valente, a Verona Father, who was my professor in the seminary at Moroto Apostles of Jesus Major Seminary.”

His works have been collected by public institutions, co-operations and private collectors in Uganda and abroad. He has held solo and group exhibitions in East Africa, Namibia, USA, Ireland, South-Africa, Germany, Norway, Belgium and Denmark, and his works have been at the famous Bonhams international auction house and one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques in London, England.
As a philanthropist, social entrepreneur and community activist, he founded the Nagenda International Academy of Art and Design (NIAAD) in 2009, affiliated to Kyambogo University. The NIAAD trains young people to acquire the necessary skills for future employment within the art and design field.
“Perhaps my major achievement has been to remain an artist for more than 20 years and to use my art to empower others and to start a private art institution (NIAAD) where we help the less privileged young people to pursue their dreams of becoming professional artists,” Kizito says.

About the author
Kizito was born in Masaka District, in 1967. He is the youngest of five brothers and six sisters. His parents were peasant farmers. His father was, however, a politician. He is married to Ruth Nanyunja and they have five children.
In 1989, he joined Makerere University where he studied his Bachelor degree, Master’s Degree in Fine Art (majoring in sculpture) and a PhD in Art History. In 2003, he completed his PhD studies and won a two-year-scholarship to Burren College of Arts in Ireland where he completed his second Masters in Fine Art (MFA) majoring in painting.
Kizito has been lecturing at the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art, Makerere University since 1992. He is currently a dean and an associate professor.