The Geography of Fixed things: Eastern African Artists from The ARAK Collection

The Geography of Fixed Things explores the intersections of space, identity, and belonging, as inspired by Lucille Clifton's poignant poem “for the lame.” The exhibition was curated by E.N Mirembe in 2023. Mirembe works with art as a curator, editor, writer and researcher. She was the first ARAK Collection 2023 Curatorial Residency Fellowship Recipient. In 1937, and for many years after, Makerere University’s art school was the only one in Eastern Africa. This later changed but many Eastern African artists of the time were trained there. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Kenya’s foremost writer, also attended Makerere College as it was the best school in the region at the time. There was mobility throughout geographies that informed (Eastern) African cultural production. At a time when nation-state boundaries were being so clearly defined, artistic production continued to extend beyond and quite frankly could not, cannot be contained within the ideological fiction. The history and continuing contemporary moment of cultural work in Eastern Africa defy the logic of cartography and are an exercise in connecting beyond the fixed lines. It is within this tradition that this exhibition is situated.