About Tusiime Mathias

WHO IS MATHIAS TUSIIME?

BACKGROUND.

Mathias Tusiime is a self - taught artist who paints with oil and acrylics on his own hand- made paper, as well as on commercially produced paper and canvas. Tusiime’s day job is a Grounds man at Makerere Art School and through this interaction with the faculty he has been able to earn him a place of respect in the art community and exhibited in Uganda, Kenya, Denmark, Netherland USA and Netherland. He converts waste that he cleans up like discarded paints, paper and sugar cane pulp into bright joyous artworks. His subjects are often children with large bright eyed stares.

Tusiime Mathias has always astonished viewers and art lovers alike and for the last two decades his art can be seen to echo what every Artists dreams of: authenticity.  Tusiime’s art has been more like taming the dynamics of societies own narrative and practice but more specifically refining his childhood experiences. What else would you label someone who has seen and been viewed by tourists gazers, art fanatics, art buyers and the community’s expense of hungry art space visitors.

Tusiime’s talent and involvement in art narrative can be traced back two decades ago in 1999.This is the time when he came into contact with what one could call a sheer pleasure but also as a result of working or like some writers have put it, labouring at one of the oldest East African Schools – The Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts.

WHAT IS THE GREATEST STORY OF SUCCESS?

• I am known beyond the Ugandan boarder. My work is appreciated by people of different classes and tastes.
• Being able to exhibit in prestigious places Makerere University Kampala Gallery, University of Florida Gallery, Denmark, Netherlands, USA etc
• Making my own hand -made paper.  (canvas)
• I attended central Africa Art in Health forum organised University of Florida held in Kigali – Rwanda.

DO YOU THINK BEING AN ARTIST WAS YOUR CAREER?

Possibly if you asked Tusiime he says it was not his career at the beginning, but now that he got his opportunity of doing art, he feels at the moment it is his calling. He says when it comes to Art now he feels passionately attached to this profession.

 Tusiime’s practice is essentially a painter and a print maker because that is what he was exposed to from the start. His inspiration was working with waste material in the studio and on campus.

SOME OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS

My work has been highly acknowledged both locally and internationally. E.g. I was invited to conduct a workshop about my work in the University of Columbia USA, Mbali institute and merry land University, Florida University, New Orleans University,North Eastern University.

My work was selected to Design the minstrel Literacy magazine, etc I was selected to attend east central Africa Art in Health. This to me marks one of the greatest achievement inspite of the fact that I was not able to go.

By making experiments (research) on waste materials I managed to come out, with my own technique of turning waste materials into unique paper (canvas) for painting and print making.

A founding member of Uganda Art Consortium project of Kisa Foundation USA etc