Theme 3: See the Unseen

Canon Griffin, born in 1991 in Uganda, is a versatile, multimedia arts, graphic design and visual communications professional working in two interconnected areas: digitally manipulated photography and the preservation of a historical visual record of Uganda’s daily life and culture.

Griffin’s journey in the arts began with an interest in digital graphics when he was a high school student. His skills in image editing helped him get a summer job as assistant in a local photo studio, which provided plenty of opportunities to practice post-processing of photographs ordered by the studio’s clients. He subsequently trained in computer science and documentary photography and worked in TV production while becoming increasingly engaged, through his own art practice, in the visual exploration of social, economic and environmental impacts of urban development. His artworks have been regularly displayed at art venues in Africa and Europe since 2011.

Longinos Nagila, born in 1986 in Kenya is an experimental multimedia artist who lives and works in Nairobi. He studied filmmaking in Bari, Italy after graduating from the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts in Nairobi.

Nagila is inspired by early black-and-white photography and often transfers images from photographs to paper, using paint. Nagila’s practice evolves constantly, but his work is driven by a critique of the processes and implications of industrialization, mass production and rapid urbanization. Nagila is interested in the ways in which Western culture and fashion influence Africa. He challenges the viewer to see the radical contrast between concepts of contemporary Western and traditional African beauty and design.

Born in 1984 in Maputo, and based in Mozambique and Portugal, Mário Macilau began photography in 2003 and by 2007 dedicated himself solely to his practice when he traded his mother’s cell phone for his first camera. Central to Mario’s artistic practice are multi-year, research-based photography projects that focus on the working and living conditions of socially excluded groups, such as street children, waste pickers, members of vanishing traditional religions and people from areas affected by major natural disasters. 

Collin Sekajugo is a self-taught artist and arts activist born in Masaka, Uganda to a Rwandan mother and Ugandan father. Orphaned at the age of 16, art offered Sekajugo a way to both earn a living and make a difference in his community, where he had grown up observing extreme poverty and dependence. His mixed media practice includes painting, photography, sculpture, installation, and performance.

Inspired by his mixed background, Rwanda’s history of ethnic conflict, and the consumerism of contemporary culture, Sekajugo explores questions of identity and discrimination, as well as issues such poverty, education, gender, and environmental change. He sees art as a tool of social transformation through engagement with his audience, raising awareness of socioeconomic issues and sharing knowledge and ideas with the underprivileged and disadvantaged. His work reflects his social conscience, highlighting the link between art and community in Africa.

Born in 1975, Michael Tsegaye lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He received his diploma in painting from Addis Ababa University’s School of Fine Arts & Design in 2002, but soon switched to photography as his principal medium of creative self-expression. His previous experience as a painter has greatly influenced Tsegaye’s photographic work in the way he approaches composition, uses perspective, and accentuates texture in his images. Many of them often have a painterly feel. He has stated that he does not follow the work of photographers, instead finding solace and rapport with the painter community in Addis Ababa, which has helped him hone his own craft as a photographer.

Since 2006, Tsegaye has worked internationally with prestigious publishing houses, press agencies and NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières and UNESCO, specializing in documentary photography.

Armand Boua was born in 1978 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he lives and works. He graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts and the Centre Technique des Arts Appliqués in Abidjan (the Technical Center for Applied Arts), the Sainte Marie Training Institute, and the Museum of Civilization. Boua specializes in painting that incorporates non-traditional media, including found objects. His pictorial subjects are inspired by daily encounters in the streets of the rapidly developing and industrializing city of Abidjan. The theme of particular concern to Boua is the myths and realities around the influx of runaway children in the Ivorian capital. 

Gangs of young adolescents and children who lost their families or escaped from home and are surviving on their own in abandoned urban quarters have been a growing problem in many megalopolises. Lacking the wisdom, care and love of adults, detached from places of their birth, deprived of education, often burdened with crime, and relying on minimal resources, these children create their own world with its special moral norms and secret languages. The street language of Abidjan is known as “Nouchi” and it is in Nouchi that Boua, who works closely with street children, gives titles of his paintings.

Omar Diaw Chimere is a graffiti artist, illustrator, painter, designer, and teacher. Identifying as a pan-African artist, Omar seeks to use his art to celebrate black culture. Omar’s artistic studies began at the age of eight, when he began sketching and drawing, believing that everything which crossed his mind and eye could be translated to canvas or paper. Of his artistic journey Omar states, “all [my] life has been spiritual gymnastics to reach the heights of art through drawing and painting.”

Today, Omar lives in Guinea and spends much of his artistic practice teaching young people about the principals of street art. He leads one of the premier groups of graffiti artists in Guinea, Guinee Ghetto Graff. He uses his artistic talent to transform the aesthetics of neighborhoods in Conakry, as well as other parts of the country. He was the co-organizer of the premier festival for graffiti art in Guinea, Lassiry Graffiti. Combining realism and clear, quick messaging, Omar recognizes the importance of large-scale murals in positively impacting public thinking. He creates works ranging from the celebration of Pan African heroes to the building of awareness for tropical diseases and COVID-19.

Jean David Nkot is a visual artist born in Douala, Cameroon in 1989. Nkot uses multiple layers in his work to engage with broad themes such as trans-national migration, gender equality and poverty, and to bring our attention to the lives and stories of individual subjects. Nkot’s work has been included in many prestigious exhibitions, including Aujord’hui 2019, curated by Simon Njami and sponsored by the World Bank Country Office at the Cameroon National Museum in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Through the detailed and nuanced depiction of his subjects, Nkot draws attention to their humanity, saying “… rather than highlighting pain and sorrow, I focus on the resilience of the people I represent. I’m interested in the moments of joy, and I capture the smiles behind the suffering. I praise the self-sacrifice and strength of these anonymous individuals.”

Inspired by the maps of Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn, Nkot uses maps to establish geographical context, while the portraits layered on top tell individual stories. He sometimes adds a third layer of text to convey additional information that helps to drive home the message of the work.

Tété Azankpo is a self-taught artist, born in Lome, Togo. His engagement with the arts is characterized by his hands-on approach to making a sustainable living. He began as a welder and metal worker, learning about form, construction and stability. He then moved into the real estate sector, learning how to be a successful agent by creating eye-catching and engaging home advertisements. He finally transferred this knowledge of visual language to become a sign painter and printer of serigraphs.

In 1997, Azankpo created a defining piece, debuting his arts career. He erected life-size sculptures made with wood and recycled materials on more than two and a half acres of rugged terrain north of Lomé. Titled Les Épouvantails des Champs (The Fields’ Scarecrows), this work was the first of its kind in the subregion, engaging nearby youth communities in its creation and attracting visitors from beyond Togo’s borders.

Nebay Abraha is an Eritrean artist currently living in South Sudan. A bold young artist, Nebay creates mixed-media collages and portraits incorporating materials ranging from charcoal to recycled newspaper clippings. His portraits give voice to the young generation in Ethiopia and Eritrea, contributing to the continent’s larger discourse.

Nebay received his diploma in drawing and painting in 2015 from the Satreb Art Institute in Asmara, Eritrea. In 2018 he moved to Ethiopia, where he taught art and exhibited with other Ethiopian and Eritrean artists. Now based in South Sudan, Nebay continues to exhibit in various locations in Juba, South Sudan, as well as internationally.