Former NTV Uganda anchor, Faith Ariho, hopes her nature photography will spark an interest among Ugandans to visit and love their beautiful country more.
Ariho, a budding photographer, recently held her very first photo exhibition dubbed ‘Primal Terra’. The week-long exhibition at the Kisementi-based Ezi studio was curated by Trevor Mukholi, an independent curator and art consultant.
Although Mukholi was more inclined to pieces with good commercial value, Ariho picked moments that were special to her. Together, they finally zeroed down on the pieces that lined the walls – photos taken in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison falls national park, Jinja and Kisoro among other places.
During the exhibition, Ariho told Plugged that she hopes that through these images that showcase Uganda in its pristine nature, she can woo Ugandans to go out and explore the different attractions.
“I feel people haven’t really traveled Uganda so well. They stop in Jinja, Entebbe, and they are like ‘We have traveled’. But there’s quite a lot to be seen out there. So, with this exhibition, I’m trying to get people to visit their country more and love it more,” Ariho told Plugged.
“I want them to visit the country through my lens. So, I put out these beautiful pictures so they see how beautiful Uganda is,” she added.
Formerly, Ariho was a news anchor on NTV Uganda but at some point left mainstream media to pursue other passions. She says she has always been a nature lover having grown up in the countryside – Bushenyi, Kabale and Fort Portal.
“Usually when you travel there, it’s always beautiful. Capturing these photographs when I’m away either on holiday or at work, it was important.”.
She says nature photography takes a lot of patience. Explaining her experience in the wild, she recounted how capturing her main exhibition photo – a leopard in Queen Elizabeth park – was a very scary moment. The leopard was walking towards her position. Her hands were shaking out of fear.
“It’s never easy. First of all, traveling to these places is very expensive. People should consider that when they are buying our work. It takes a lot of work to be in the bush or climb a hill in order to get these shots. The beauty is, I love it”.
For her, this maiden exhibition represents courage, considering she has always felt that her work was not good enough for the public.
The positive feedback from the guests also boosted her confidence and she is looking to hold an annual exhibition of her work. For now, those interested in buying her work can contact her through her Instagram and Twitter.
Media personality, Maurice Mugisha, who is a friend to Ariho and who stopped by at the exhibition thinks the local market can do more to support the creative art industry.
“I was impressed with the quality of work. I’m very passionate about tourism. And you can see from her work that she’s very keen on promoting nature and our tourism. I would love to encourage her to do it more,” Mugisha who himself has visited different national parks told Plugged at the exhibition.
According to Mugisha, it is important that individuals and institutions make a deliberate attempt to hang artwork that tells local stories on their walls, not just for the sake of it but because Uganda has very talented artists and photographers.
“Every single home has a portrait of sorts but sometimes, what’s unfortunate, a lot of the works that are in the different homes, offices and strategic institutions are foreign. It’s unfair to the market because we have great artists and photographers,” he said.
Exhibitors can only sustain their works if there is demand for their work since theirs (art) is a capital-intensive industry, he argues.
“I think artists need to work together and do bigger things. So, you have a bigger studio where 4, 5 or 10 photographers and artists come together and tell a story. You have different sections of the space telling different stories. That will get more traction. Unfortunately, I think there will be more foreigners than Ugandans walking in the room, but I think it will be the beginning.”
Personally, as a consumer of art, Mugisha says it’s usually the presentation (of art) that captures his attention. He is open to any subject – food, nature or animals – but it’s the story that appeals to him.
