Resistance and Renewal; Ugandan Wisdoms

Birungi Kawooya is a self-taught British-Ugandan artist, wellbeing researcher, and creative facilitator. Her name, Birungi, means 'Bringer of Good Things,' a name deeply rooted in Ugandan culture. Her art practice is a return to her heritage. Reconnecting with Ugandan culture, artisanal practices, and the natural environment, has been central to her personal recovery. After a marketing career in London left her deeply burnt out, Birungi turned toward art and healing. She began exploring the trauma she experienced as a Black, disabled woman, and as a child growing up in London with working-class roots. Self-care has come through creating art with natural fibres such as palm and banana leaves, embracing afro-somatic movement and dances of the African diaspora, whilst keeping an emphasis on rest and simply being enough. Birungi’s work reminds us that care is cultural, creative, and communal, and that healing practices from the Global Majority have long offered wisdom, balance, and restoration. Her workshops offer safe, healing spaces for Black women and non-binary people. And, as a true 'Bringer of Good Things,' she offers community care through mindfulness rooted in African practices, nurturing healing and connection. Her spaces of cultural rootedness are acts of both resistance and restoration, where Birungi invites you to dream, rest, and heal.

Images courtesy of Birungi Kawooya.

Discover Birungi Kawooya: https://birungikawooyaart.com/home/

Production:

Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Closed Captions are added to all audio interviews in this series.

Read only, text transcripts of every interview, news, reviews and your host, Paula Moore, are available here: https://canartsaveus.com/

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