By Mark Wamai
Who is Anthony Mucunguzi?
I hail from Fort Portal the Tourism City, Kabarole District. I was born in Kilembe Mines Hospital, Kasese and raised in Kilembe for thirteen years until our family shifted to the Hima Residential area. I attended Unique Valley Nursery School, Namuhuga Primary School and Unique Valley Primary School in Kasese. When I was in P7, on 1st May 2013, River Nyamwamba burst its banks and swept away all our property. We had to start over from scratch. Hima Cement, my Dad’s employer then, offered us refuge and some relief items to help start life afresh. Although Dad had a job, school fees was hard to come by owing to the multitude of responsibilities he had to take up. As the first born, I had to try my level best not to disappoint him despite the trauma from the floods. I scored 9 aggregates at P.L.E and went to St. Joseph’s Vocational School in Mbarara for my secondary education. I joined Makerere where I pursued the Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Arts. I majored in oil painting, textile design and graphics design and graduated on 2nd February, 2024 with a CGPA of 4.03, Second Class Upper Honours degree.
Anthony Mucunguzi at the Interior Design display at the Makerere Art Gallery 21st December 2023
What was life on campus like for you?
As one born and raised in Kasese, Fort Portal and Mbarara, I didn’t know anything about Kampala. However, I had a cousin in Kampala who gave me an orientation tour. I had an Uncle who had studied at Makerere and knew some people and so I managed to secure a place in University Hall (UH). I resided in block A of UH for all my three years at Campus in A17, a nice room.
Since I had come from a single-sex school, I was so excited about campus life — the freedom to do whatever you wanted as long as the money permitted. However, I also knew that I was joining adulthood and I had to take care of myself.
I was excited to see girls who took over my time. I turned out to be what they call “a Simpson” these days; I was “simping” for girls. What this means is that I was very kind, nice and doing all that the girls asked, all in the name of being a gentleman and trying to win their hearts. It was interesting. I later made peace with all that and focused on myself and my goals. I also soon discovered that hall life is different from hostel life. In hostels, you got to experience the fun part of mingling with girls but with halls, it was more or less the single-sex school experience. However, I enjoyed the crazy moments with the boys: the morning jogs, the hall anthem songs you had to learn, the battles you had to fight with your hall. It was all fun.
Anthony Mucunguzi at a School of Fine Art get together on 9th December 2023
I had initially feared that I was going to be bullied as in high school but what I liked was that instead, people made you their friends and shared tips on campus life. They became your omugezi (mentor) so that on graduation day, you would remember them. It was also good to meet some of my OBs at University Hall.
I made it to the basketball team – the Makerere Eagles, and played with them for one season and later joined modelling. My parents, uncle and aunt always advised me to be very careful and protect myself from diseases, which advice I took to heart. The sugar mummies would always want to “eat” you, there were girls who just wanted sex, but I was pretty careful with the decisions I made.
What inspired/led you to choose BIFA?
I took Maths, Economics and Art in A’ Level but had a major interest in Art owing to my good performance at O’ Level. My aim was to become an architect. When the A’ Level results were released, I decided to pursue the Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Arts (BIFA) because that is what I qualified for under private sponsorship. I was happy to do BIFA because it offered me the opportunity to improve my art skills and the possibility of self-employment in the future. I also saw the opportunity to develop my own brand, which would be more helpful in this era. Many graduates from various disciplines remain unemployed and the number keeps growing each year. The pressure in the job market is high. Therefore, I thought that if I could consistently do something creative with my hands, with time I could earn even more than someone employed in an office. I also saw BIFA as a pathway to interior design, my other interest.
What were some of the tough experiences you faced while pursuing BIFA?
BIFA as a programme calls for great patience, creativity and love for what you are doing. As such, I used to stay up most nights trying to complete my work. With three coursework deadlines to beat in some weeks, life was hectic. Our work had to be exceptional and unique from the rest in order to get you good marks.
For example, my oil painting project was a big mural depicting preservation of Tooro culture, which took me a full month. I hardly slept that month. I had to be creative and unique, which meant constantly coming up with and adding new ideas to the frame. I never actually finished that work.
Anthony Mucunguzi at his 74th Graduation Photoshoot
The day before its submission deadline was particularly gruelling. I had stayed up the whole day trying to complete some other projects and reserved the night for the painting. That evening as I was resuming my painting, my roommate asked me to give him and his partner some privacy. My pleas about the looming deadline fell on deaf ears so I decided to leave and work on some other assignments. Later as everyone else slept, I stayed up the rest of the night trying to complete the work, my legs hurting the whole time until 7am. I was literally a zombie. I then had to carry all my best works from each course unit I had been doing since first year to the School of Fine Art for my final exhibition.
I had a lot of works that weren’t yet framed and so I had to dash to town to get that done and pick up some other requirements. Upon returning I found all my framed works broken and at that point, I thought I was going to get a retake. By the time I was done reframing my work, it was 8pm and the exhibition area was closed. I had to calm down and explain to the lecturer who thankfully permitted me to set up the next day. That night, I got some much-needed sleep and managed to set up my work the next day. I am forever grateful to all the friends that helped me carry my work from UH and set it up at the school.
I am equally thankful to my Dad for promptly paying my tuition throughout the three years. I cannot tell how he did it but he always assured me that it would be paid for he didn’t want me to have any excuses. Owing to multiple coursework deadlines I often missed some meals and slept hungry a few times despite having the money. I had to learn to make do with one meal a day.
What inspired you to keep fighting on?
I really want to thank my Mum. Every time I got demoralised, I would sit down, pray and cry out to God. I knew I was good at art but I was suffering. When I would call Mum, she would encourage me to keep pushing on and reassure me that everyone at home was praying for me. She would then remind me of the financial and other sacrifices they had made and how giving up was not an option. The fact that I was the first born meant that I had to be a good example and do the best that I could.
I am equally grateful to my parents for permitting me to do the course I wanted, and not what they wanted. I therefore had to prove to them that I had made the right choice and that art as a career is beneficial. This inspired me to keep pushing on so as to bring them great pride.
What advice would you have to students on the verge of giving up?
Firstly, you have to know your background. Our parents work tooth and nail to provide all that we need to study. If we didn’t exist, they would probably be having a great life. However, the fact that we do and they feel obliged to take care of us means they go through a lot to afford us this life. You therefore have to work hard to make them feel proud that in you they made the right investment.
Secondly, you have to know your worth in this world. You have to make yourself a valuable resource that people want to work with. Focus on what you intended to study at campus so that at the end of the day, you are not a disappointment to anyone.
What are your future plans as a visual artist?
I want to be a well-known brand be it in oil painting, textile design or graphics design. With this, I have to keep on producing works so as to perfect my art. My aim is to be an interior designer so I will keep on working on that plan as well as many other opportunities that come my w
Related News
Please join hands with the Makerere University Endowment Fund as it works towards attracting & retaining the best faculty, providing scholarships, and investing in cutting-edge research and technology.