Nommo Gallery hosts several exhibitions for well known local artists and talented amateurs. Another good source of local painting can be found at the Margaret Trowel School of Fine Art, Industrial Art and Design at Makerere University. Here, you can find paintings and sculptures from many of the talented students as well as their instructors. Silkscreen printing was first created by Margaret Trowell who established the Fine Arts School at Kampala’s Makerere University.

In the early 1970s big exhibitions were coordinated by the Uganda Art Club throughout Kampala. Uganda silkscreen printing was innovated by Margaret Trowell who established the Fine Arts School at Kampala’s Makerere University.

Another gallery to visit is Tulifanya, located near Radio Uganda. This gallery focuses more on modern art and features local talent in their monthly exhibitions.

Each gallery works with several unique artists, and it would be best to visit a variety of galleries to get a real feel for Ugandan art.

Among Uganda Artists Godfrey Banadda is one of the most famous. His unique art comprised of interesting characters and cultural stories. Banadda has created more than 150 portraits and paintings. Another notable artist is Geoffrey Mukasa who passed away in 2009, but his work lives on and will be featured at a memorial exhibition at the Tulifanya Gallery later in the year.

The contemporary art of Uganda has been acknowledged as an important international art movement in Africa.

Hand-Carved Face Masks
Carved face masks were expressions of supernatural powers and have been an important part of many African ceremonies and rituals. These festivals include fertility rituals, healing rituals and agricultural festivals to guarantee a bountiful harvest. In traditional mask dances, the dancer was the medium between good and evil spirits. Most individual villagers did their own wood carving when it wasn’t harvest season. For the best artists,
this would become their full time career. Cotton, ebony and mahogany are the most popular choices of wood. Even though these hand-carved masks no longer have a significant role in religious ceremonies, they are still skillfully carved for the tourist industry. Wooden pipes are also popular hand made souvenirs.

Pottery / Gourds
They have many uses of gourds. This includes making a traditional container for beer. When split in half, the two parts make good beer drinking bowls. Some long-necked gourds are used for drinking water while others are used for keeping salt or butter. Many artists decorate them with tiny beads. Pots and earthenware saucers are made from made of kaolin, a soft white clay, dark soil or rust colored clay. Kaolin is often used in making porcelain. Skilled potters mold the clay with their hands as they carve out their products, without using a kick wheel. Many tribes also use clay to make smoking pipes, pots for drinking water and for cooking utensils.

Baskets
There are several types of baskets made in Uganda. Grass and palm leaves are common materials used in mats and baskets. Hand bags and decorative wall hangings are also hand woven. Many of these pieces have intricate designs and patterns showing their fine craftsmanship. Specially dyed fibers are used to brighten up the artwork.

Some areas of Western Uganda are known for producing fine, cylinder shaped baskets used for keeping bread hot. In Buganda you will find larger baskets. These are used for coffee beans and fruits. Bottled beer is often served in these types of woven baskets.

One of the more unique baskets is the hand-woven beer basket. It is made from a certain type of grass from the mountains and is carefully harvested and dyed. These baskets are woven very tightly and have beautiful patterns. These beer pots were commonly used by men to carry their home brewed beer while out hunting. They are woven so tightly, that they do not leak. Dipping the basket in water and hanging it from a tree will keep the contents chilled, even on the hottest day. Unfortunately, these unique beer baskets are becoming scarce as there are only a few craftsmen able to weave them.

Bark cloth is more than just a native hand-made souvenir. The making of bark cloth has been a part of Ugandan culture for centuries. Bark cloth manufacturing is an ancient craft of the Buganda people of Southern Uganda. Its preparation involves one of mankind’s oldest, prehistoric techniques that began before the invention of weaving. The labor intense process includes stripping the bark from the tree, boiling it, pounding and stretching it and then drying it. The finished material is up to ten times longer than the original piece of bark.

It is a sacred fabric which defines the spirit of the Buganda kingdom. Bark cloth remains a ceremonial dress for royalty, chiefs, and heirs during coronations and funerals. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have named the process of making bark cloth among the world’s collective heritage.

In earlier times, bark cloth was produced in almost every village in the Buganda kingdom, but the material was replaced in many areas by cotton cloth that was introduced by Arab traders in the 1800’s. As cotton became more popular, there were fewer uses for bark cloth.

While most bark cloth has a rich reddish-brown color, the material for a king or chief will often be dyed white or black depending upon the ceremony. While the use of bark cloth today is primarily ceremonial, the material is still manufactured using the same skills of the ancient craftsmen.

Over the centuries, it has served as clothing, in the form of a toga, and has been used for curtains, bedding, mosquito screening, as a room divider and it was commonly worn by traditional healers and statesmen.

Modern uses of bark cloth include manufacturing purses, shoulder bags, table mats, briefcases and cushion covers as well as being sold as souvenirs. Part of the goal of UNESCO is to help find additional decorative uses for bark cloth to help preserve this ancient manufacturing art.

Musical Instruments / Drums
Drums are common instruments in all of Africa and have come to be a symbol of African culture. They are used as a form of entertainment and part of everyday music as well as being an important part in several ritual ceremonies, such as funerals, exorcisms and religious ceremonies. There are several variations in drums as you go from one area to another. The most typical drums are made from wood and covered in animal skin. Medium and larger drums are generally covered in the heavy skins of cows or goats. These can be played by hand or using drum sticks. Some of the smaller, more delicate drums might use the light and thin skin from a crocodile, alligator or monitor lizards. These are designed to be played by hand only. Some drums are covered with zebra skin, but these are primarily sold to tourists. The wood for the drums are fashioned from a hollowed out tree trunk. Wood is selected from materials that do not rot easily.

Jewelry
Traditional jewelry items in Ugandan culture include amulets, beaded necklaces, arm and leg ornaments, bracelets, rings, earrings and headdresses. Jewelry has been fashioned from animal teeth and bones, feathers, stone, wood, clay and precious metals. One type of headdress is made form human hair held together with grease and clay. It is patterned painted red, blue and yellow, and has metal eyelets to hold ostrich feathers.

Most jewelry sold as souvenirs is imported and consists of beads, bracelets, rings and earrings.