Junior Wants A New Phone - Reflections

I live in the same area, Bunga as the host, Daudi Karungi, for this Iraa session so it was easy for me to make my way there. Also, this would be my second time at his home, the only obstacle on my trip would be my memory. All thanks to the times, I made good use of Google Maps and on my way passed by Stacey Gillian who was one of the guests at the gathering. I was one of the earlier guests as I came to understand after the host had directed me to a parking spot in his compound. Before entering his Spanish inspired abode, one is greeted by colour from the thicket of plants and flowers surrounding it. Very intentional as I came to conclude after the occasion.

Participants engage in thoughtful discussions at Daudi Karungi's home during Kitchen@the Granary session 14, Iraa- the Granary, on August 1, 2025. Image courtesy of Hypemedia photography

To run back a little, when the invite for this event was presented to me, I kept imagining and forecasting how the conversation would sound like. I had just done my own Iraa session days ago, so my mind kept questioning about how a gallerist, former artist would conduct theirs. What would they entertain us with? What would they talk about? However, my prejudices and ‘artist-myopic’ mind were put to rest when I received that email from Daudi, pointing out what we would indulge in. In came the title of the gathering, “Junior Wants A New Phone”, witty and metaphoric I thought. Other themes emerged within this. Thus, what was I thinking? He has worked in the art world for over 20 years, he might not have paintings or anything tangible to present to us, but he has a hoard of information to share about the field as a former artist, sometimes curator and now a very successful gallerist.

After serving breakfast, we sat on the dining table on the pouch and the informal exchanges started as we waited for the “Ugandan-time keepers”. A question about the house was posed to Daudi by Immy Mali, the main instigator of Iraa -The Granary. Turned out that a hacienda inspired the house which is a Spanish Empire influenced plantation estate. Daudi went on to share how these are designed to host and entertain guests with their large door-like windows and emphasized pouch. This made sense tying well into his trade and looking at the wonderful collection he had on his walls. A Sungi Mlengeya and a Joseph Ntensibe wouldn’t miss but an unexpected appearance was a Romeo Mivekannin, a Beninese artist whose large illustrative style work hang on the staircase. Daudi would surely benefit showing it off to wine tasting and disposable income individuals. It works well together, I thought. The other guests arrived and Henry “Mzili” Mujunga, an artist and long-time friend of the host took over at guiding the conversation as a moderator. The cameras rolled and the mics pegged the collars of shirts. The story of how Daudi arrived at leading Afriart gallery was spelled out by Mzili indicating determination and focus from the young artist then. His work was rejected by then leading gallerist Maria Fischer of Tulifanya gallery. Daudi went on to start Afriart gallery from the then not-so busy, partly dilapidated exhibition halls of UMA grounds. This was after the top person at the facility, who happened to be his grandfather, the late James Mulwana, a very successful industrialist at the time, gave him a go-ahead. To cut the story short, he is now rubbing shoulders with Jeffrey Deitch, how does he stay at this table was the question. I think this was where authenticity was first proposed as an answer to the query at hand.

Breakfast spread at "Junior Wants a New Phone" featuring a variety of mugs, sliced bread, biscuits, and a jar of sugar, arranged neatly on a table. Image credit: hypemedia photography

There was probing into the conventional gallery model, the need to see artists work with fashion houses, sports brands or global events. Daudi felt like he’s now ready to branch into this direction. The engagement went on to legacy and mentorship and the host expressed that he’s interested in leaving behind a structure and a ripple effect after sharing an interview excerpt from Larry Gagosian where Larry expressed no inclement to the Gagosian out living him. The recent show of Charlene Komuntale and Sarah Waiswa at Afriart gallery is actually tasting these waters is what I thought because it was erected with Daudi, the main head of the establishment, absent. Gagosian expressed that his gallery will die with him but Daudi is pushing his employees as mentees and hoping to move towards the independence of what he has built. A point that was thrown around is that legacy is not ours as the living to worry about, it will write itself following the breadth and quality of our deeds that we leave behind.

Daudi was also pushed into talking about the business of art and the artist as a business. For the latter, he always begins by saying art and money are two different things and therefore he is no fan of the Jeff Koons and Damien Hirsts of our world. For an African context, he gave an example of the recent wave of the black figuration trend which made over-night art stars in a blink of an eye. Posting their wares on Instagram and getting directly to collectors – where are they now and how does the future of such artists look like now that the trend has lost it’s fire? For the former,  he saw a business becoming a kind of artwork, where each part supports the whole, and where beauty lies in the balance.

What makes art good or bad? Daudi is of the view that lazy artists make bad art. But how do we quantify laziness. I’m thinking if we are judging art by hours an artist works, then we are thinking of commodity and then factory, and then wounding back to capitalism and commercialism, and money which shouldn’t be related to art as the host alleges. If we are to look at the surface of this idea, we think of the 10,000 hour rule, meaning the more you work, the closer you get to mastery but this runs us into thinking of art on it’s skill and aesthetic side only. Visual art is not like sport or music, there are some forms/movements that rely heavily on the conception and thinking(cognitive) side or even emotional side. These areas like abstract painting, performance and installation don’t warrant the artist to hone a particular skill over a long period of time, at least not always. So they are often very subjective, have no rules or guiding principles, so it’s hard to rank the art on a scale of good vs. bad. Ownership and continuity was a theme that led us into discussing the demise of institutions and projects like Laba Festival, Tulifanya gallery, Kampala Biennale or Start Journal, all of which the host had a hand in their making. I’m more interested in the biennale within all of these, and the host shared my speculations. It’s a project that is now secondary to him and he would wish somebody else would take it up and maybe have him work in the background. But then also, having spaces and institutions working together was put to the table as a possible solution to having programs like the Biennale running in continuity . And the need to put egos aside was also where we went with this.

Guest list for Kitchen@the Granary Session 14, "Junior Wants a New Phone," hosted by Daudi Karungi, set for August 1, 2025. poster design by Immy Mali

 This took us into the bully culture which participants noted is put across by Trevor Mukholi, framed as criticism. Mukholi, an up-and-coming curator, critic, provocateur and bully at this point was discussed and his style of approach considered classless and too confrontational. Even though he backs up his attacks with well researched academic rhetoric and ideologies, his work was considered over-the-top and often childish. This begged for questions into the reasons for his character which ended with someone pointing out the frustrations of recent generations. The Gen-Zs want things done fast, there and then. They are employing force, they are the Kenyan lot we see on social media jamming the streets of Nairobi. They are here, they are revolutionaries with no diplomacy. They are perhaps vital if we want to shake up the system or keep it in check.

Our last theme touched on matters of the spirit, inner peace and discipline. This is where Daudi shared about the three important aspects that make a human being whole, which necessitate the feeding of the mind, body and soul. We went into self-awareness, self-improvement and consciousness proposing books like A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, A Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma and The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma. These made sense for a person like Daudi to gravitate to, after having gone through and had the taste of capitalism in the upper echelons of the art world. If he has seen most of it in the material world, feeding his body and building a home, achievements that the usual Ugandan thinks highly of. How about the other two? Well, some of them fill these with religion which I don’t think is enough, besides, it’s been so corrupted. So, these books are perhaps better, grounding us to lived experiences and views from well researched individuals. It’s a habit he has picked up recently like he confided in us and goes further to recommend or gift books to individuals after listening to their stories or queries about life.

I was early to arrive but also was one of the last to leave. We sipped on some champagne with Sheila Nakitende, Stacey Gillian, Mzili and Daudi. The ladies left and it was the three of us men. Mzili pulled out the “When We See Us” catalogue of that popular African art show at Zeitz MoCCA from the host’s library. We went through it as we discussed the artists, the art scenes, the market and all that transpires in between. It was the perfect conclusion of an art gathering.

Matt Kayem. Image credit : Angel Monie photography.

Matt Kayem is a contemporary artist, art critic and writer living and working in Kampala, Uganda. He can be reached via email, mattkayem@gmail.com.