ABOUT NGOMA

Ngoma International Workshops began with aims of providing opportunities for artistic exchange, break new grounds in networking and inviting artists from different parts of Uganda and all over the world to work along side each other.
The mission is to bring together both national and international artists in a conducive artistic environment in order to encourage freedom of artistic expression, preservation of art and culture, networking and exposure of art to the public.

Backgrond; The first Ngoma Workshop in 1997 was an activity that one could sum up as "Reawakening of togetherness for Art" in Uganda. The contemporary Art scene in Uganda even prior to the workshop had been above standard compared to many countries in other parts of the world. The snag here was the lack of co-operation and sharing among the local artists plus, the exposure of many artists to the world art scene.Secondly, though Uganda's art had started to be recognized on the International scene the case was not so at home, apart from the diplomats and the working class who constitute a small minority of the total population and who painfully patronize art. The majority of the rural and even urban locals are not fully exposed and their appreciation was too low.

Ngoma programs are run by a Working Group of artists comprising of Emmanuel Mutungi, Sylvia Katende, Rose Kirumira, Ben Bukenya, Maria Naita, Peter Isuge and Joseph Nsereko. This year's events acttivities include the Great Lakes Regional Residency, Web site development, Newsletter issue and more audience Development projects.