Pillars of Rectitude: Women Artists of the 1960s in East Africa is a project created by the Njabala Foundation. The aim of this project is to reclaim the work of female artists of East Africa in the 1960s, draw connections between discrimination against women in the 1960s and 2020s, open spaces to rethink forms of curation that will break a cycle of erasure, cherish and protect women artists’ voices in Contemporary East Africa.

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In response to this I researched and created a zine, about  the artist Sangowawa Manyolo Estelle Betty (1938-1999). Manyolo was a female Ugandan artist active in the 1960s who was a painter and a printmaker.  Cecil Todd  (Makerere University ) submitted her work to the Harmon Foundation in New York in 1961. She also worked as an artist for the Nigeraian National TV for 12 years,  illustrated for the Ministry of Health, Kampala creating various visual aids for the Department of public health and Hygiene.  Her work drew inspiration and depicted scenes from Ugandan local culture and folklore. Her style was deeply inspired by the decorative black and white house murals created by the Bahima people of western Uganda and the rock paintings found at Nyero and Kakoro in Eastern Uganda. 

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Pillars of Rectitude was created by the Njabala Foundation and supported by Rights for Time.

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Read the full Zine here.