Faisal KIWEWA is a culture promoter, community organizer, creative industry business professional, and a member of Arts Connect Africa based in Uganda, East Africa.
Achievements
He is the founder and artistic director of Bayimba Cultural Foundation, a foundation that trains and supports artists and professionals in the culture and creative industry in Uganda. One of the foundation’s most popular initiatives is Bayimba Arts Academy, which runs a comprehensive arts education program for music artists and professionals in Uganda and across East Africa. He is also the founder and director of the East African Performing Arts Market (DOADOA), the meeting place for the East African arts community. Faisal has organized a range of festivals and events, ranging from the internationally acclaimed Bayimba International Festival of the Arts—this year in its 13th edition—and various festivals across Uganda (between 2010 and 2015).
Other notable events that Faisal is involved in are the Kampala International Theatre Festival (which he started in 2014) as well as reviving and reinvigorating the Amakula International Film Festival (since 2016). He is a frequently asked programmer/curator, committee member, or jury member for various festivals and events across the continent, as well as a regularly invited speaker and trainer at events all over the world.
Current Projects
In the over two decades that Faisal has spent in the Ugandan creative industry, a core need he has identified, to help the industry grow, is a space where creatives can get away from the hustle and bustle and be inspired to create. Thus he is building the first of its kind Bayimba Centre for Visual and Performing Arts on Lunkulu Island, a leafy semi-attached island located in the midst of a lush environment at the shores of Lake Victoria in Mukono and Buikwe districts, well away but easily reached from the capital and other urban centers. Lunkulu will serve as an ecologically sensitive creative space to accommodate Bayimba’s growing annual festivals and events, arts education for all, and advocacy activities that will contribute to the long-term sustainability of Uganda’s creative sector. It will also serve artists, peer organizations, and local communities by combining all mediums of art for visitors to get a comprehensive artistic experience. The first phase of the center has already started.
What’s Next
Faisal Kiwewa continues to be an organizer in the Ugandan and East African creative industries, providing material resources and building human resources by building platforms for both creatives and professionals to thrive. He also continues to play a major role in the ACA network, driving the agenda of building a network of music industry professionals that will continue to deliver value across the continent and on the global stage.