Daudi KARUNGI

The entrepreneur

Daudi Karungi founded Afriart Gallery in 2002. Trained in art, he understands the difficulties young artists face. He has taken Ugandan art abroad to present it in international art fairs, museums and major exhibitions. He is also co-founder of startjournal.org, Uganda’s first art criticism journal. And in 2014, he launched the Kampala Art Biennale, of which he is now director and coordinator.

Daudi Karungi‘s work focuses on the promotion of art both within and outside Uganda, the development of an audience that appreciates art and coaching, and the development of Ugandan talent internationally. Since the foundation of the gallery, Daudi’s management skills have been challenged. In addition to management, he has held various positions such as business developer and communications manager. He is passionate about leadership and continues to find ways to inspire his team and promote productivity.

The company

Afriart Gallery was founded in 2002 and has since become a leading contemporary art gallery in East Africa. Present in two locations in Kampala, it focuses on new forms of expression and dialogue with the public. Its mission is to create a space where professional artists can flourish in their work and artistic careers, and to provide a place where gallery owners, conservators, collectors, writers, designers and architects will find high quality, fresh and innovative artistic ideas. Gallery members achieve this by carefully selecting artists, encouraging their participation and supporting their interactions to ensure a better experience during their stay at the Afriart Gallery. The team continually creates and implements new projects to interact with the Kampala community through artist talks, workshops, art commissions, solo and group exhibitions, internships, residencies and guest artist programs.

Exposing artists to the world allows them to open up, think differently and become activists on issues that affect them. Afriart also participates in major international art events such as the Cape Town Art Fair, Joburg, Art x Lagos in Africa or AKAA and Arco in Europe as the only Ugandan gallery promoting Ugandan artists internationally.

The development project

With Afrique Créative, Afriart Gallery pursues acceleration objectives. Among these, the company wishes to

Create an incubation space to support artists: the SP-AIR project (Silhouette Project – Artist in Residency)
Develop a communication and marketing strategy
Raise funds

Activities have already been carried out

Recruiting a communication and business developer manager
Renovating and fitting out an existing studio to accommodate artists
Launching a first call for applications for the artist-in-residency project SP-AIR and selecting two artists

The impact

60%
of women inn the team

10
exhibitions per year

400
works of art sold in 2018

27
artists in 3
residency programs
until now

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