Dan Sekanwagi

Dan Sekanwagi is a Uganda American artist residing in Houston, Texas. When he left his native country of Uganda, he
brought with him a rich culture and deep rooted heritage which is manifest in his work in more ways than just in color
schemes.

In Uganda, Sekanwagi worked as a structural draftsman for an engineering corporation, an illustrator for the leading
publishing house and an illustrator of educational television programs for Makerere University Center for Continuing
Education system.

He became a full-time artist in 1976 prior to fleeing his country to neighboring Kenya as Uganda's economic and
cultural life collapsed under the chaotic rule of a military dictator. In Nairobi (Kenya) where he lived until 1983,
Sekanwagi left an impression on the art scene with his distinctive style of painting with inks and dyes on canvas.

His sellout exhibitions sponsored by Alliance Française at the French Cultural Center (1980) and at Firmin Gallery
sponsored by Firmin Gallery (1981) in Nairobi led to an invitation to exhibit at Phoenix Gallery (West Germany 1982).

Sekanwagi was awarded three grants and full sponsorships by The Commonwealth Foundation, The Visiting Arts Unit
of Great Britain and The Commonwealth Institute respectively to exhibit at the Commonwealth Institute London,
(England 1983). The success of the exhibition spawned other exhibition sponsorships at; Martin Luther King Memorial
Library Gallery A-2 (Washington, DC 1983) and MSC Gallery at Texas A&M University (1984).

In 1990, he was invited by The Arts Promotions Program at First City Bank (Houston, Texas) to exhibit the entire month
of February to mark the Black Awareness Month. In 1994, Sekanwagi was honored with a full grant by Atlanta
Committee of Olympic Games (ACOG) to exhibit as a 'Cultural Olympiad' representing East and Central Africa in an
international expo to promote the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

More recently, Sekanwagi has had a solo exhibition at Milagro Center - in South Florida and a commemorative
exhibition during the conference of the Association for the Advancement of Ugandan Americans, August-September
2000, in Palm Beach, Florida. His work has also been in numerous group exhibitions along with well known artists and
in presentations to academic and special interest groups interested in African studies.

Sekanwagi's art has been featured in numerous newspaper articles and other publications world wide. He has been
featured on TV and Radio broadcasts including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC World Service), Kenya
Television, Voice of America (VOA), Kenya Airways Magazine - Msafiri, Log Homes Magazine, Sandoz International
Gazette, Washington Post, Washington Galleries & Museums News and Houston Chronicle.

Among the many beneficiaries of Sekanwagi's works of art is the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which
published his art for an international fund-raising greeting cards project "For the well-being of the world's children" in
1987.

His work is in the collection of high profile entertainers, Royals, major corporations, private and public collections
including The Center for African Studies at the University of California-Berkeley which is the recipient of two historic
artworks by Dan Sekanwagi, donated by private art collector Kathryn Hecht, Ed.D., of San Francisco. Sekanwagi’s
work is also on permanent display at The ArtRoom Gallery (The Center for East African Art Movement) in San
Francisco and at his private Gallery in Houston Texas.

Sekanwagi, a self actualized and disciplined expressionist enjoys his art and works with multiple media. While the art
form itself seems to emerge from a world only known to the artist, the content and subject matter of his work do relate
to basic human activities, experiences or aspirations. Sekanwagi's work is truly as intriguing as it is dynamic.

The ever expanding repertoire of his work now includes custom designed and hand printed textiles that he
incorporates in his montage pieces, sculptural installations and furniture design. Sekanwagi is always on the move for
new mediums to express his rather hyper-engaged imagination.

He attributes the visual appeal of his art to the free and adventurous approach he applies to his entire creative
process. His exhibitions in Africa, Europe and North America have not only stimulated latent talents in many artists but
have also been an eye-opener for many art lovers who were not aware of the direction in which African Art has been
evolving ever since "Mask Art"