Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation – Art feature

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation – Art feature

Rewenzori Sculpture Foundation Article by: Rungwe Kingdon.  Images by: Steve Russell

Art, community, and conservation unite at Uganda’s Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation

The Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation is the hidden gem of Uganda’s cultural landscape. Nestled in the foothills of the majestic Mountains of the Moon in the small village of Kyemihoko 11kms north of Kasese on the Fort Portal road between the national parks of Queen Elizabeth, Kibale and Rwenzori mountains.

rwenzori founder logo

Culture Empowering Development

The ethos behind this unique attraction is that culture can be a force for positive development. To this end, the principals of the foundation trained for three years in the UK learning the intricate process of lost wax sculpture casting coming back home to practice these methods at world class standards in Uganda. 

 

Alongside and hand in hand with the practice of these craft skills has been the emphasis on involving their immediate community in the foundations aims. The health of the surrounding village residents has been boosted by the development of the Kyemihoko clinic which treats all but the most serious conditions.  Its ongoing commitment offering a much higher level of clinical services involves a cottage hospital and its equipment currently under construction. 

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation fireplace
Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation fireplace

Essential Services Development

From much higher in the mountains, clean water has been piped down to the villages and site giving the community access to this most basic commodity and saving the long walks twice a day to collect a single Jerry can of water from the river. 

Electricity supply, a road, employment opportunities as well as a small youth centre are other community-focused objectives of the foundation.

 

Environmental Restoration

The health of the environment around the Foundation and its conservation is the third major preoccupation of the organisation.  One hundred acres surround the foundry and gallery which have been carefully rewilded growing a wide diversity of indigenous trees. Originally the land was intensively cultivated for cotton production resulting in a depleted and impoverished fauna and flora with a bird count of only fifty species.

 

Over the past 18 years the young trees have developed into forest, woodland and savannah biomes, attracting collectively a wonderful variety of insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation overlook

New species arrive every year already over 220 bird varieties have been recorded taking refuge in this island of trees in a sea of agriculture. 

Situated equidistant between the Savannahs of Queen Elizabeth national park and the forests of Kibale and Rwenzori National Parks means that species from both biomes can be found on site and birdwatching is an easy and rewarding activity from the comforts of the gallery and coffee shop.

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation lodge
Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation landscape

Artistic Excellence and Heritage

It is art however, that is the major reason for a visit to the foundation. The gallery which was designed by Kilburn and Nightingale, was awarded the annual prize of the architecture associations prize for sustainability; its dramatic profile echoing the hills and mountains behind it whilst within its walls a changing exhibition of world class sculpture is always on show. Surrounding the gallery, a sculpture trail of larger works winds its way around the features of the landscape including an attractive Lilly-filled pond, alive with fluttering butterflies, the sights and sounds of abundant bird life.

 

Guided tours of the foundry are available for a modest fee, the gallery and grounds are free.  This instructive visit is a must-see; the intricacies of the 6,000-year-old technology are explained through the range of examples currently going through the process. Uganda’s leading sculptors are using the technique in increasingly creative ways rivalling each other in forevermore challenging masterpieces.

The majority of works are cast in bronze and they vary from hand size to large sculptures fit for outdoor locations of private gardens, corporate or civil monument in a more public context.  The casting of a life size charging Buffalo is a project currently in progress and will be an outdoor monument celebrating the health of a community.

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation miniature sculpture

Sustainable Artistry

A wide variety of subjects sculpted are represented at the Foundation; wildlife, village life, contemporary culture and current issues regardless, percolate through to the imagery that preoccupy or concern the artists. Other media than bronze is also used to create sculptures, stone, marble, wood, semi-precious stone and steel are all expertly manipulated into significant shapes and images. Constantly on display is a range of Clan totems depicting the symbolic cultural identities uniting wildlife with tradition.

 

The social and environmental concerns of the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation permeate the whole organisation where sourcing local materials, recycling and restoration are fully integrated into the production of the sculptures. Bees wax from our own as well as other honey producers is used to model beautiful and intricate sculptures which are then transformed through the lost wax process into the permanence and richness of bronze. Recycled vehicle sump oil is filtered providing a sustainable source of energy to power the furnaces melting metal at temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees centigrade. Long hours of skilled metalwork and chasing leads to the final finishing of the cast bronzes using chemical compounds to colour the sculptures in subtle hues that either enhance their modernity or echo antiquity in their organic and appropriate patina. 

 

The opportunity to purchase a real work of art of the rich cultures of Uganda rather than a mere road side souvenir is a prime objective of the Foundation, as is the promotion of Ugandan sculpture both on the ground at the onsite gallery and through affiliated art galleries abroad. 

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation cottage
Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation cottage

The Foundation is open to visitors daily and the coffee shop provides a welcome break from long drives between the major national parks in the region.

Get in touch

Please give advance warning where possible all welcome

Emmanuel +256 702 858556

Isaac +256 782 238036

Winnie. +256 702 946453

Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation catalogue

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