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Uganda: Low-Key Defines Olympic Art, Music
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The Weekly Observer (Kampala)
1 May 2008
Posted to the web 1 May 2008
John Vianney Nsimbe
Kampala
The competition for the best Olympic Games' art piece and song comes once every four years. It is a competition that brings to the fore participants from all over the world. As such, it must be prestigious.
However, it is anything but that in Uganda, going by how silent the whole process came and passed. There were simply very few artists and musicians interested.
On April 7, the best art piece was announced and the ten musicians with original Olympic song compositions went through an audition at National Theatre's Green room.
Charles Lwanga, a music lecturer at Makerere University, artiste General Mega Dee, a Music Dance and Drama graduate, and another musician, Dorothy Bukirwa, were the judges.
It was so obvious who the best musician would be after the audition; at least to me. It had to be either Charles Opuru, 24, a.k.a. Chazzo Rice or Julie Ssesanga, formerly of the Big Five band.
The two did the best Olympic songs with sensible lyrics about the spirit and objective of the games. The rest of the musicians were shouting; others only had a chorus or the music beats eclipsed the singer's voice. In essence, they were miming. It was amazing how the whole country could have only 10 singers auditioning.
Not that the art was spared. The Uganda Olympic Committee official, Willie Bamutiire, told The Weekly Observer that only 25 artists had participated. Among these was Sylvia Katende, a senior lecturer at the School of Industrial and Fine Art, Makerere University. She was runner-up this time but a winner in the contest for the 2004 Olympics.
Delighted as she was to have won, she was saddened by the fact that her students don't take part.
"I think the publicity has to be widened and given prominence to attract more artists. Why should I, a lecturer, do this but my students don't?" asked Katende.
It is believed that besides the little publicity, there is little incentive. A cash prize of Shs 300,000 ($176) is really small for a winning art piece of such a big international event, the artists said.
In addition, according to the International Olympic Committee, this is an event meant for amateurs.
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But so many professionals take part and as a result, the number of participants in the art competition has suffered very low turn-ups in different Olympic Games years.
Even though the art competition was low key, the art pieces were unique. Jude Wasswa's winning piece made from fibre glass will be taken to Beijing, the 2008 Olympic Games venue, to compete with thousands of art pieces from around the world.
He said: "I hope my piece can do well there but above all I know the spirit of the Olympics is participating not winning."
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