Former boda-boda rider wins USD500 in Bic Art Master Africa painting competition

November 24, 2024 in Business, Trade & Industry by Editor

Kaweesi, centre, holds the dummy check for USD500

Mesearch Kaweesi, a Bodaboda rider and mason, turned fine artist won himself USD500 in prize money, after his art piece was voted best of 56 entries in the 6th edition of the Bic Art Masters Africa Competition.

Artists were invited early this year to submit entries painted using Bic ballpoint pens to depict the theme of Ubuntu (One Africa).

The Art master Africa is an art competition that was launched in South Africa in 2017 and later expanded across the African continent in 2019 and the middle East in 2021.The aim was to provide a platform for emerging artists to show their work, explore creativity and share their stories through the art of the Bic ballpoint pen drawings.

According to Victor Wandera the Bic Implant Country Manager, this year’s theme sought to stimulate African consciousness by encouraging artists to express the African philosophy of Ubuntu which emphasizes interdependence and the power of recognition.

Speaking during prize giving ceremony at the Umoja Gallery in Bukoto on November22, Mimi Immaculate, the Marketing manager at African Queen No 1 Ltd, the official distributor for Bic in Uganda, said through art, they aim to give skilled, unskilled and upcoming young artists, a platform through which they cab showcase their talents through their visualisations of the selected themes.

Kaweesi says he will invest the prize money in production materials to advance his career in art. He explained that it took him 70 hours, using two Bic pens to draw the winning painting. The entry featuring two smiling youth radiates happiness and camaraderie regardless of circumstances, a reflection of Kaweesi’s inner piece despite his struggles.

Drawing from his personal experience, Kaweesi advised youth to pursue their talents at all costs. His parents wanted him to become a plumber, a career that did not appeal to him. The resultant clash forced him to flee his parents’ home.

In Kampala, he settled for Bodaboda riding, supplementing it with part-time work as a mason to make ends meet.

“It was while riding one day that I came across a gentleman called Bwayo Andrew painting at art piece, on one of the streets in Kampala. I approached him and asked him to teach me more so I could develop my art talent,” Kaweesi recalls.

Bwayo introduced him to Vision Africa where he has since been carrying out his painting art. With the mentorship from other artists at Vision Africa, he hone his skills until he snagged the top prize this year’s painting competition.