We are glad to have you here. Welcome to the online group exhibition of all the artworks that we submitted during the art contest titled ‘Being Positive In Times Of Difficulties”. What you are about to see, are artworks done by children below 15 years telling their stories of resilience, positivity as well as playfulness to depict how they have kept themselves positive in this time of adversity. The participants in the contest came from 17 districts in Uganda, some from Nakivaale refugee settlement plus 1 from Canada and the other from the Philippines. Some of the children that participated came from some of the schools where we implement our mentorship programs while the majorities were new to us. We hope that these works inspire you to be more optimistic.
COVID-19 has made it difficult for community-focused organizations like ours to physically continue to engage children and also enables them to learn together. We know for sure this is the same story to various organizations in Uganda. These are challenging times for any of us to provide full support to the beneficiaries of our programs. Unfortunately, it has been a difficult time for most people worldwide but it’s worse for the children since they are not in a position anymore to meet up with their peers, share their views freely. However, if we don’t reach out to some of these children, they will lose their hope for their future since they are undergoing a time with intense pressure, filled with negativity but yet, such time needs them to smile often, be appreciated and be creative with themselves. It’s upon that matter, therefore, that we put up the art contest to provide a platform for children to express themselves, give the world a glimpse into their lockdowns and above all, get rewarded for their amazing artworks because we need future artists and optimistic children for a better tomorrow. Because we take the health of the children and that of our staffs as a top priority, we had to minimize possibilities of physical interactions to observe the guidelines for the Ministry of Health and WHO, therefore, this explains why everything about the art contest happened virtually. However, when it is safe for us to meet, we intend to organise a gathering for the participants and also conduct art sessions plus a free chocolate making class, which will be conducted by one of ours.
A side of the art contest, we have also reached out to children and their families with essential supplies (posho, cooking oil, soap, and sugar) so as to enable them to have access to such important items in such a hard time. So far, we have reached out to 160 families and we hope that when we raise more resources, we can reach out to more families because the need still exists and actually it’s so huge by now.
If you have a kind heart, please DONATE via PAYPAL or MOBILE MONEY – +256 (0) 705859110 so that at the end of the pandemic, you will look back and remember how you can together to support those that needed your support the most.
Four pointers were considered in the judging process and these included:
Creativity and originality
Depiction of the contest’s theme.
Quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the hook.
Overall impression of the art.
To select the winners, a diverse group of judges volunteered their time and on 26th June, they met virtually on Zoom to determine the winners. The judges included
Dr Timothy Amukele – an associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the Johns Hopkin School of Medicine
Ruth Martinez – a Peace Corps volunteer and a graduate of International Affairs from Morningside College in Sioux City,
Yusuf Kiwanda – a practicing lawyer based in San Francisco, California, an author, and a causal visual artist,
Jason Neil – an experienced digital artist and an illustrator based in Calgary, Canada with a B.Des from Alberta College of Art and Design,
Winifred Ikilai – an activist for Persons living with HIV, and AVAC fellow 2020 – Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention. We were all coordinated by Sarah Keith Namara – a talent manager, mentor, and programs officer at Mark Mutungi Foundation.
However, due to factors beyond their control, two other judges didn’t join the Zoom meeting but supported the process virtually.
Much appreciation goes to all the partners who made the art contest possible; these include NakivArt, Streetlights Uganda, Nile Girls Forum, No White Saviors, Moonbean chocolate, Pixan Inc, Pixart Media – Nairobi, Reminac TV, Horizon International School, Faces Up Store which facilitated the funds to are going to be awarded to the winners.
Thank you so much for checking out this exhibition (special thanks for those of you who have supported this cause in any way). Here are other ways you can still be involved;
If you believe you have a story to share, get in TOUCH
Together, we can do greater things. Come lets join hands to reach out to more young people from underserved communities.
Enable young people we empower to raise their school fees through every purchase you make on www.store.facesup.org
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