‘eUPA is a project mixing cultures and disciplines. Eight artists from Uganda, Germany, and other countries work on it. It is inspired by the old idea of sitting around a fire to build community, tell stories, and exchange.
‘eUPA means ‘bonfire’ in Ateso, an Eastern Nilotic language from Uganda and Kenya. It is a symbol of togetherness and oneness.
The project takes the bonfire gathering online. It creates a place for people to come together to share stories. It preserves them as living, moving memories that the next generation can build on. It will weave histories, ideas and visions of the future with art and working together.
With ‘eUPA, we intend to focus on African ways of thinking and building a community. We will look at the knowledge transfer with the method of ancient wisdom and oral history.
There is more and more fragmentation and partition in our societies. ‘eUPA’s traditional format, through modern technology, decolonizes education, knowledge production and human connection.
‘eUPA explores the power of storytelling and art-making. How can we strengthen the bonds that reach beyond the divisions of nationality, race, gender, and other factors of inequality?
We invite other artists and collaborators. Find more information here.
Meet the Team
The future
A time capsule will be created and opened in cycles at a ritual celebration event through a website. It will contain the art produced in the process and the final presentation of the project. It will take place on the 5th of December 2021 in Kampala, Uganda.
The event will showcase the finished artwork. Also, it will be a ritual to send off the time capsule and combine the real and digital immersive experiences simultaneously.