Awaken
Exhibition Title: Awaken
Exhibition Type: Collaborative Philanthropic Documentary Exhibition
Organising Institution: CivSource Africa
Venue: Latitude 0° Hotel, Makindye, Kampala, Uganda
Date: July 15th, 2022
Curator: Jennifer Mpyisi
Collaborating Photographers: Jim Joel Nyakana and Miriam Watsemba
Core Theme: Omutima Omugabi / Kutoa Ni Moyo (African Philanthropy and Our Generous Spirit)
Medium: Documentary Photography
The "Awaken" art exhibition served as a profound visual investigation into the organic expressions, symbols, and deeply woven patterns of community fundraising and mutual aid (Ubuntu) across Uganda. Produced by CivSource Africa and curated by Jennifer Mpyisi, the flagship exhibition brought together the compelling lenses of photographers Jim Joel Nyakana and Miriam Watsemba at the Latitude 0° Hotel in Makindye.
The visual archive was conceptualized against the immediate backdrop of the global pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, a period that severely overwhelmed formal institutional aid and forced ordinary citizens to independently step up to care for their vulnerable neighbors. By passing classic academic art frames, the documentary collection focused heavily on capturing "giving as a verb". The showcase recorded spontaneous acts of resource pooling ranging from localized community medical collections to deeply cultural, self-funded funeral support networks (bika). Placed within an alternative art space, the exhibition functioned as a public laboratory, using photography as a filter to push beyond simple curiosity. It challenged local and international visitors to actively recognize, value, and leverage indigenous African philanthropy to drive self-determined development agendas across the region.
Installation views
