On Monday (December 11th) evening, poetry and spoken word art lovers gathered at the Kampala Serena Hotel, Victoria Hall, to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of Kwivuga, the Odyssey Poetry Session.
The celebrated poetry session that runs once a week has built a reputation of producing some of the finest poets and spoken word artists in the region.
Since 2012, the event has given a number of literature lovers a platform to flaunt their talents.
After 11 years of existence, the brand has grown and I&M Bank Uganda came in handy to ensure they had a big celebration for the event’s 11-year milestone.
If the event production and attendance witnessed at the Kampala Serena hotel on Monday is anything to go by, then the future for the Kwivuga series is definitely a bright one.
The entry of new sponsors- I&M Bank Uganda is an indicator that the series are on the right course.
I&M Bank’s commitment to strengthening the creative industry stretches from Kenya, where the Group Executive Director Mr. Sarit Raja Shah is known to have a soft spot for art.
His love for art saw the creation of an appealing brand, the I&M Art Experience, that was launched in May, to help both established and upcoming artists exhibit their works and foster their careers.
For some time now, I&M Group has backed the Arts by creating platforms for artists to showcase their talent and grow their careers as art professionals in Kenya. The Group thinks it’s high time they replicated the same in Uganda.
“At I&M Bank we believe in helping empower communities and individuals to realize their goals. We have such a young population that has a big share in the arts and creative industry. By sponsoring this edition of The Odyssey Kwivuga, we are reaffirming our commitment to promoting the arts, with the intention of growing the creative economy in Uganda. We are also not solely focused on the present but we want to inspire the next generation of artists too,” said Annette Nakiyaga, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at I&M Bank.
In Kenya, I&M Bank has invested over Ksh120m from different art piece collections and partnerships.
This news should come as music to ears of stakeholders of Uganda’s arts industry.
There is no doubt that the talent is immense; this was evident on Monday evening as performers that included Jason Ntaro, Babaluku, Ngobi Kagayi, Roshan Karmali, Ruyonga, The Mith, Wonder JR and Lillian Mbabazi, put up a memorable show.
Nunu Umuringa Butare, the Kwivuga founder thanked poetry and spoken word art lovers for walking the 11-year journey with her. She also got the audience emotional when she invited her teenage son and daughter on the stage, and revealed that they are the reason she never gave up on chasing the dream of turning Kwivuga into a big event.
The event ended a few minutes towards midnight, and attendees went home with remarkable memories.