Artful Reflections

I build equitable partnerships with organisations who value my work, because I conduct research and deliver mental health informed art wellbeing programmes all year round. This takes time. If you’re approaching me for the first time for a BHM workshop, then you probably don’t see me and what I can do for your people. And that’s OK! I am may not be for you.

REFLECTIONS – What would the past version of you from 10 years ago, say about you now? Comment on instagram or email me… View this post on Instagram A post shared by Birungi Kawooya (@birungiart) What a difference decade makes. 10 years ago, baby Birungi (29 and 6 months), was preparing to leave a job in which she was bullied because the City of London was built on exploiting labour based on gender and ethnicity. She would be really proud of me for researching and using variety of wellbeing methodologies and speaking openly about mental health issues for minoritised people. I think baby Birungi would be particularly grateful to be a full time artist, encouraging individuals, students, corporate teams and local boroughs to promote wellbeing. Over the past decade, I’ve explored the roots of depression and anxiety with counselling, psychodynamic therapy, psychiatry, CBT and collage art making. My perspective has revealed to me that through exploring African textiles, paper and natural fibres, I am piecing together my identity and accepting all of me, as the disabled, African, working class woman who has never formally trained in art. I’ve gone from making friends birthday cards to confidently depicting myself in life size portraiture. Slowing down with hashtag#meditation, nature and learning from so many health practitioners has supercharged my growth and my hashtag#mindset. What would the version of you 10 years ago think of who you are and what you’re doing now? Please leave a comment or drop me a message. Read more about my mindful African art workshops

Does anyone else need a reminder to take a break? I am so grateful that through art making, I can reflect on my needs and commit to taking better care of myself. I reflect on self care, how I am learning to listen to my body with respect, whilst on my residency with Njabala Foundation and 32° East | Ugandan Arts Trust. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Birungi Kawooya (@birungiart)

My names, Birungi (which means “good”) and Ndwadde (which means “I am sick”) used to puzzle me. No one can tell me why our Jajja (Grandmother) named me this way. Engaging in art has given me confidence to make sense of my name and my identities as a British Ugandan woman with a disability. It is through the periods of sickness (depression and anxiety, brain fog, intense pain in my neck, back and jaw and teeth grinding) that I have had reorient my life to become well (good).

GRATITUDE – Thank you Njabala Foundation and 32° East for helping a very anxious woman to find her voice in her home country, when I didn’t feel like I could be myself in either the UK or Uganda. Now I am back in London, I feel more British and Ugandan. I claim my identities for myself, I am no longer waiting for approval.

Curated by Black Blossoms in partnership with Kensington and Chelsea Art Week, we, Bokani and Birungi Kawooya collaborated on a mural that portrays Black womxn in a state of relaxation against a mesmerizing backdrop. We aimed to skillfully depict our subjects’ peaceful and serene moments amidst an entrancing setting, creating a captivating atmosphere that heightens the contemplative mood of the piece. Through our art, we sought to showcase the beauty and importance of rest and rejuvenation in the lives of Black womxn. The mural invites the viewer to immerse themselves in the dreamy and thought-provoking world that we have created. To learn more about the project, you can read our full interview on the Black Blossoms Journal. Black Blossom Journal This project is funded by Untold Stories, part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Birungi Kawooya (@birungiart) “I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks for collaborating with Black Blossoms last year. The impact of your mural on Freston Road is still resonating, providing both residents and passersby with ample opportunities for contemplation on the themes of rest and reflection. On a personal note, last year marked the first summer I deliberately stepped back from actively pursuing new projects. It was a challenging period – tears were shed, my body felt weary, and my mind raced incessantly. Amidst these struggles, I contemplated the call to Black womxn to rest and reflect. I realised that, despite the systemic barriers rooted in capitalism, a more profound internal wall existed – a feeling of unworthiness to prioritise self-care, fill my cup, and embark on a healing journey from within. Following the installation of your mural and as I started to decline new work, I embarked on a transformative journey encompassing fitness, health, and, most importantly, rest. Bokani and Birungi, your artistic expression advocating for Black womxn to embrace rest brought me to a heightened state of consciousness, a realisation that only became apparent during my reflections in 2023.” — Bolanle Tajudeen, curator and producer Read more about my mindful African art workshops

A space for rest

Breathe in, slowly

Lay, sit and rest with me.

Reflect on your past

Be still in the present and

Imagine your future

Protect your dreamspace

A Sisters Need Sleep installation

It’s easy to take the abundance of local materials available in Uganda for granted. But for Birungi Kawooya, a Ugandan-British artist based in the UK, staple materials like lubogo (bark cloth) and banana fibre were not previously available. They were materials she grew up with and that defined art in her home. They offered a unique visual language because of their stunning textural qualities and their cultural significance in Uganda. During her residency with 32° East, Kawooya has relied on these materials to process, visualize, and release past trauma. To do this, she made a triptych of self-portraits on lubogo of various colors. One recreates a familial trauma that left her feeling invalidated and uses lubogo as a metaphorical shroud to lay the past down with care. In this piece she is able to portray hurt and anger where before she would have framed it in positivity, something she refers to as a one-sided experiment as each side of the emotional spectrum is part of black womxnhood. In the second piece, she showcases herself in the present, supported by her resting self. Rest becomes essential to wellness in the present and moving on from the past. In the third piece, in the future, she imagines herself as strong, agile, and elevated. in this portrait she is in movement and moved on from the cocoon that encompassed a depressive era. This triptych was showcased at the Njabala Annual Exhibition at Makerere Art Gallery, along with an installment of a space where people were encouraged to rest on the day of exhibition. Following this collection, her final installation is a pyramid made from lubogo with equilateral sides for structural integrity. The pyramid houses a space that invites the audience to enter and rest. Rest, well-being and mental health are core themes in Kawooya’s work. She began practicing self-portraiture as way to hold conversation with herself. This equipped her to better engage in dialogue about mental health and black womxnhood. Digging into mental health, well-being, and the diasporic experience has required vulnerability around vital questions of identity. Feeling safe, welcome, and appreciated by the artist community at 32° East and around the Njabala Foundation has made for a meaningful experience. “I feel like I’m being seen for who I am in my entirety. As I truly am,” she says. Feeling accepted reaffirms her as an artist and reaffirms that there is more than one way of being Ugandan. That barriers of distance and language don’t have to diminish her identity. She plans to carry her residency experience back into the spaces where she tutors art in the UK to help others through similar self-reflection as part of the artistic process. Written by Gloria Kincoco. watch a video of me taking you inside the ‘a space for rest’ installation here