“Forming a larger body of work that is ongoing “the art of offense” with notable works like ebyakaayisali, waagawulidde, muwawa and many others,"The Scars on My Elbow" is an interdisciplinary performance piece of art that delves into themes of community, collectiveness and personal healing. Inspired by a cultural saying "a single palm can’t clap by its self" and a personal experience of recovering from an arm injury. This work explores the interconnectedness between communal effort, collaboration and how it contributes to both artistic expression as well as individual well-being.

"The Scars on My Elbow (Enkovu Ku Nkokola yange)" is a compelling exploration of community, healing, and artistic collaboration. Through a unique blend of visual and performing arts, this project aims to create a powerful, immersive experience that celebrates the strength found in collective effort and the profound impact of communal support on personal recovery.

This work is a collaboration between music, classical music, poetry and a sculptural art installtion. Weaving together strips of stripped aluminum printing plates creating a tapystry of an aluminum mat. This work will be realised through a sculptural installation, performance with a woven aluminum mat. With its symbolisim, the mat symbolises collective effort and unity as it is crafted from numerous strips of aluminum that are intricately woven together with each strip representing a hand in the community contributing to the whole. The aluminum mat also serves as a metaphorical gesture of hospitality and welcome, reflecting my cultural traditions where laying down a mat signifies a warm invitation into one's home. The mat will be large enough to serve as the central piece of the performance space, inviting viewers to engage with its tactile and visual dimensions”. - Odur Ronald

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As an extension of this work, a musical album title muwawa derived from the installation muwawa 2020 initially commissioned by 32° East for the 2021 KLART festival will add a broader perspective to this work in the realm of collaboration with sound.

 

The collaboration between Odur Ronald, Ssemaganda Ronald and Micheal Nganda started through an introduction by a mutual friend; spoken word artist Mitch Isabirye when Odur expressed to him the desire to incorporate music in his performative sculptural installations. Odur consulted Mitch, Mitch opened his network and thus a kinship was developed between the three artists. In a conversation with the trio, a mutual respect, calm personalities and creative curiosity have held their year long collaboration together.

 

The creation process of Odur’s sculptural installation which also asks of Ssemaganda to engage with the thought processes of creating melodic sound has constantly been nourished by Chef Micheal Nganda’s inventive culinary explorations. In the making of Muwawa | The Album, collaborations extend to the communities that each of the individuals bring with them.

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Ssemaganda Ronald is a dynamic, multi-disciplinary artist whose creative energy moves effortlessly across sound, movement, and visual expression. As a musician, actor, photographer, dancer, and instrumentalist, his true magic lies in his deep exploration and manipulation of sound. Blending the soulful textures of local instruments with the unexpected tones of non-native ones, —an ever-evolving conversation between tradition and experimentation.

Beyond sound, Ssemaganda is also the visionary behind Kasawo, a bag fashion brand driven by a passion for sustainability and a plastic-free future, transforming worn-out textiles into bold, functional art pieces.His journey has taken him across Europe, where he has shared his melodic creations with diverse audiences, building connections through rhythm, curiosity, and artistic exchange. Whether on stage, in studio, or in collaboration, Ssemaganda’s work invites music and art lovers into a world where creativity knows no limits and every sound tells a story.

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Chef Micheal Nganda is a self-taught private chef, culinary artist, and food consultant whose work is a vibrant celebration of nature, community, and creativity. Deeply inspired by the rhythms of the natural world, human connection and the realities of our changing climate, his approach to food is ever-evolving.

His culinary practice intertwines with music and artistic collaboration, transforming each dish into an experience that nourishes both body and spirit. As the founder of efumbiro256 and co-founder of Ekika the Clan alongside Ssemaganda, Chef Nganda creates spaces where people gather, share, and reconnect—honoring the joy of togetherness and the magic that happens when community, nature, music and art meet. He has collaborated with spaces such as Viva Uganda to encourage the Ugandans to embrace vegetarian dishes.

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Odur Ronald is a multi-displinary visual artist. He mainly uses aluminium printing plates by exploring its possibilities, one technique at a time by not only painting on the aluminium sheets, but also dents, burns, layers, stitches and weaves the shiny metal thus achieving texture, color, shape and character.

Odur graduated in Interior Design at Kyambogo University, Uganda (2017). His work has been featured and shown in several group exhibitions such as The Kampala Art Biennale curated by Simon Njami (2018), The East African Biennale, Tanzania (2019), East Meets East, The New Gallery, CoCuDI Center, Jerusalem (2020),), KLA ART 21, 32 Degrees East/Ugandan Art Trust (2021), Where The Wild Things Are, Afriart Gallery (2021), Our Africa Our Future, African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, The 14th Kaunas Biennale, Lithuania (2023), The Republic of This and That, Solo Exhibition at Afropocene Capsule (2023), Welcome to the UK, Ugly Duck, London(2024), The 60th Venice Biennale, Uganda Pavilion, Italy (2024), Beyond Sculpture, Afriart Gallery,Uganda,(2024) and will be part of the Dak’art Biennale 2024 in Dakar, Senegal.

He is the winner of the Mukumbya Musoke Art Prize 2020 and one of the recipients of the Prince Claus Seed Award 2020, UK. He has been part of an art residency by 32 Degrees East/Ugandan Art Trust at Centre Soleil d’Afrique Mali (2020), Silhouette Projects Art Residency at Afriart Gallery (2020), and The African Union Art Residency at Loman Art, Dakar, Senegal (2022), and at Gasworks, London, UK, (2024).

 

The 15th Kitchen @ the Granary session seeks to explore the building of collaborations within artistic practices and how these engagements can enrich the creative processes across varied disciplines. The session is also an invitation from the artists to the participants to contribute to the making process of the work by means of critique as they listen to the components of the work within the makers’ space.