Born to a Ugandan family in London, self-taught artist Birungi Kawooya draws inspiration from both traditional Kiganda dance in Uganda and contemporary dance forms from the African diaspora, among other influences, to create collages that offer different representations of Black womanhood. Informed by her African roots, Kawooya's practice embraces art therapy and collaborative projects to highlight notions of well-being, social justice and self-care for Black women.
Mixed media collage artist Birungi Kawooya was born into a family of Ugandan descent in London. As a child, she aspired to become both a fashion designer and an artist, often sketching her own collections. She was also inspired by Degas' ballerinas and dancers she saw on television, which she frequently drew (Contreras 2021). A self-taught artist, she began experimenting with collage on a day when she found herself idle. She had an assortment of African print fabric, paper, glue, and a craft knife at her disposal and she decided spontaneously to create something from these materials. Growing up in largely white environments, Kawooya had not received the affirmation she sought as a young child and she later declared, ‘I'm making art to rectify that and to see myself as worthy of admiration, to reflect my story, and now I feel a responsibility to highlight other black women’ (Better Shared interview).
Informed by her African roots, Kawooya’s practice is deeply influenced by the collages that adorned the walls of her childhood home. In Uganda, artworks commonly incorporate local materials such as banana tree fibre or lubogo, a type of tree bark cloth. These collages featured silhouettes of men and women, specifically from her tribe, generally depicted in side profile, of which Kawooya observed: ‘That’s just the artwork I grew up with, so I’ve always gravitated to keeping the people in my work Black as well. As an East African I’ve been politicised as Black, but I’m comfortable with that label, it’s fine. This is what I represent in my art’ (Torres 2022). Challenging Western beauty standards, her mixed-media collages present alternative portrayals of Black womanhood, the elegant silhouettes of her figures set against white backgrounds or batik designs. Kawooya prefers to use black card for her portraits, despite the range of skin colour options, in order to include individuals with the darkest and richest skin tones, and because she is proud of the term ‘Black’ (Contreras 2021). She is also influenced by Uganda's Kiganda dance, the Nicholas Brothers' dancers, Afro-Brazilian samba, and African-American Hiplet, exploring the visual storytelling of movement. Through her silhouettes and the vibrant hues of Ugandan batiks, she aims to capture the movement, skill, and essence of dance forms from the African diaspora, rendering them into two-dimensional artworks.
Kawooya's art also elevates Black womxnhood and emphasises themes such as rest, wellness, self-care, inner reflection, and comfort. In 2020, she recognised the vital role that Black womxn have in leading social justice movements. Subsequently, she focused her creative energy on encouraging Black womxn to prioritise their mental well-being through her Sisters Need Sleep collection, which she described as a work ‘in defiance of our capitalist rise and grind culture’ (Contreras 2021). Celebrating Black sisterhood, the series showcases Black women not dancing and performing, but instead, taking time out for themselves, thus resisting internal and external oppressive forces and contributing to a more equitable society. Among the images is Three Sisters, a collage influenced by the iconic poster of the National Theatre's production of Three Sisters (2019), in which Nigerian-born writer Inua Ellams transformed Chekhov’s classic play into an account of the Biafran war. In Kawooya’s artwork, one sister rests while the other two provide emotional support and protection, their golden Afros serving as halos, contrasting with the deep blue batik sky. The series inspired Black Womxn at Rest, a mural on Freston Road in London's Shepherd's Bush, created jointly with Zimbabwean-British artist Bokani for Kensington and Chelsea Art Week. Freston Road is significant within the history of protest as the short-lived location in 1977 for The Free and Independent Republic of Frestonia, when squatters occupied two adjacent streets of run-down Victorian cottages.
In 2021, Kawooya participated in The World Reimagined in London, a nationwide art project showcasing over 100 globes in seven UK cities which sought to highlight the Transatlantic slave trade and encourage conversations about racial justice. Her contribution, Peckham in Bloom, responded to the theme ‘Community’ and featured three Black women, Lorna, Audrey and Titilayomi. Kawooya explained that ‘The love and care they pour into their communities and Southwark inspired me to create an offering that is reminiscent of the tropics they grew up in’ (The World Reimagined). Kawooya's recent exhibitions include Fun & Games: Playtime, Past and Present, Portico Library, Manchester (2020),
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Birungi Kawooya]
Publications related to [Birungi Kawooya] in the Ben Uri Library