Woman Crush Wednesday
Satisfashion UG’s WCW Today Is Acaye Kerunen
Acaye Kerunen is a Ugandan multidisciplinary performance and installation artist, storyteller, writer, actress and activist, she holds a BSc in Mass Communication from the Islamic University in Uganda, Mbale and a Diploma in Information Systems Management from Aptech.
Acaye was raised by her single mother, who was also an artist. The maternal values transferred from her mother are evident in Acaye’s work ethic, which involves multitude collaborations with women, some in transition from domestic violence, poverty or internal displacement to women who are struggling to find outlets for their inherent creativity.
Acaye’s process as a socially engaged artist foregrounds the work of local and regional Ugandan craftswomen, celebrating them as integral collaborators and elevating the artistic practices of local artisans who are the gatekeepers of their local wetlands, drawing upon a sacred and unspoken knowledge of ecological stewardship. By deconstructing utilitarian materials and artisan crafts, Acaye repositions the work in order to tell new stories and posit new meaning.
Acaye was recently invited to exhibit her work at the 59th Venice Biennale Art Festival for the very first time, a huge milestone for her and the Ugandan Art scene as a whole. In an interview with EA Scene she talked about what this meant to Uganda.
“It is important because it is the Olympics of art. Being visible at the biennale is the equivalent of Uganda making it through to the World Cup Finals. That is the enormity that is the significance of Uganda going there in its 59th year.” She said. “What’s important though is that there is no one else in the great lakes region doing the art that I am doing. Not in Kampala, not in East Africa. I am the first of my kind- as a woman.
View Acaye’s curated work at WWW.ACAYEKERUNEN.COM
Source: EA Scene
Satisfashionug@gmail.com
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