Uganda 2026

Kampala
Commissioner: Acaye Kerunen
Curator: Taga Francis Nuwagaba
Exhibitors: Joseph Ntensibe, Lilian Mary Nabulime, Ronex Ahimbisibwe, Lakwena Maciver, Sheila Nakitende, Stacey Gillian Abe, Aloka Trevor

Responding to Koyo Kouoh’s In Minor Keys, Kampala brings together seven artists in an exhibition supported by the Ugandan Government – an unprecedented initiative. Together, we present Kampala and its artistic community to the world in Venice, while inviting the world to discover Kampala as a destination for art and coffee.

In Minor Keys reflects the ‘ecology’ and ‘rich ecosystems’ that underpin Kampala’s cultural fabric. Before 1890, Kampala was a hunting ground for kings and nobles, affectionately known as ‘Akasozi k’empala’ – Luganda for ‘the hill of the impalas’. The transformation of its name from ‘Akasozi k’empala’ to ‘Kampala’ opens up a space for shifting perspectives and diplomatic coffee breaks, in a country that is one of the world’s leading producers of both Robusta and Arabica coffee.

Oxymorons abound in Kampala. And yet, the music remains beautiful, even as the exhibition’s minor keys bring its underlying fragilities into sharp focus. Diplomacy demands silence. Yet this very silence also honours the absence of Koyo Kouoh, who left this world so unexpectedly. It seems only yesterday that she was here with us all, visiting me in Kampala.