Public Art, Dance, and Music and the Politics of Culture in East and Central Africa

Interview with Faisal Kiwewa of Bayimba International Festival of the Arts, Uganda

Abstract

The interview that follows took place on Microsoft Teams on 22 May 2022. I have edited the transcript for length and readability. I asked Faisal Kiwewa to talk in some detail about the origin of the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts, its organisation and networks. I also invited him to discuss the Festival’s continuing impact on participating artists and audiences as well as its influence on the creative arts. He noted the changed landscape for the independent artists; the creative industry’s trend away from individual artist or small performing group productions powerfully limits the distribution and venue bookings’ potential of indigenous creative artists. And importantly, Kiwewa agreed on Bayimba International Festival’s lasting contribution to the creative industry and to an interregional East and Central African contemporary artistic culture.