The Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) in partnership with the French Embassy Kampala have launched “UNCC Arts and Culture magazine” whose objective is to provide a platform and a voice for the Arts and Culture sector as well as ignite positive debates.
The magazine launched under the FSPI Culture project(Solidarity Funds for Innovative Projects) , will come out once a month to shine a spotlight on the Arts and Cultural Sector in Uganda.
During the magazine launch in Kampala on Wednesday, Robert Musiitwa, the UNCC Head of Public Relations and Marketing said the project will be a deliberate and conscious voice of the sector to policymakers and development partners.
“The magazine will be a mirror for the artists and cultural practitioners through which they can see themselves without bias; and an open accountability/report to partners and consumers of Uganda art and cultural goods and services. Additionally, this magazine will give regular updates about upcoming events and projects, the opportunities (capacity building, collaborations, funding, networking, etc.) available for Ugandan artists and cultural practitioners locally, regionally, and globally,”Mr Musiitwa asserted.
” In Uganda today, there are many projects, activities, and events happening in the arts and cultural sector and yet go unnoticed. They not only happen at UNCC but also at much private art/cultural spaces and organizations. The arts and culture sector also faces several challenges hindering its smooth operation. These challenges include the absence of an authoritative voice and common platform for the sector players to voice their concerns, insufficient media coverage, and shortage of information on the various opportunities available for the various sector players among others,”he added.
On his part Batambuze Charles, Vice-Chair National Culture Forum (NCF) also Executive Director of National Book Trust revealed the “UNCC Arts and Culture magazine” is a platform that will shine a spotlight onto the arts and cultural sector.
He said It will be the voice for the sector to the policymakers as well as a source of valuable information for the artists and cultural practitioners.
“The arts and cultural sector like any other sector have been greatly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the nature of its consumption where in most cases it attracts crowds, the sector has remained closed for almost 2 years and yet it remains unclear when exactly it may be opened and there is no strong and authoritative voice to lobby and advocate for the sector. Through the publication of UNCC Arts and Culture Magazine, UNCC aims to step into this gap by providing a strong voice for the sector,” Mr Batambuze noted.
” The UNCC Arts and Culture magazine will also systematically rebuild the sector and give hope back to the practitioners who have otherwise lost it at the moment. The content of the magazine has been carefully developed to become a very important source of inspiration, information about available opportunities such as scholarships about arts and culture, skills enhancement and training, residence/festival/workshop calls among others all of which are meant to improve life among all sector players.”
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