A Virtual Look: Artistry of Awegys

Open in Walton Gallery and below online is Artistry of Awegys: Paintings by Ugandan Youth. A virtual gallery talk and reception is planned for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2021. The acrylic on pulled bark canvas paintings were created by student-artists who attend Awegys Secondary School in Kigo, Uganda. The school’s mission is to provide the best possible education to those whose dreams of attending school had not been realized due to poverty, the war, or the death of their parents due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Most of the students attending Awegys come from the northern region of the country that is still recovering from the decades-long civil war with the Lord’s Resistance Army. At Awegys, with the assistance of the Mtaala Foundation, students find a haven where they are free to learn and live their best and happiest lives.

The exhibition was organized by George School science teacher Bob Fest. Bob helped start and now helps run The Mtaala Foundation, a US non-profit/Ugandan nonprofit organization. The foundation supports vulnerable children in Uganda by providing quality education and access to health care.

“We work with Ugandans to build schools and clinics where there once were none,” said Bob. One such school is the Awegys Secondary School, attended by the student artists highlighted in the exhibition.

Bob and Polly Lodge, Science Department head, traveled to Uganda for a service-learning trip with George School students in 2019 and visited the school. While there, the students collaborated on a mural, a part of it is shown in the photo above.

Learn more about some of the students who have studied at Awegys.

Gallery Talk, February 12, 1:30 p.m.:  https://vimeo.com/event/669070/72f4611199 

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