We were lucky to catch up with Steven Muleme recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It all started when I was still young and in primary. Art wasn’t a part of the subjects, but I remember I always had a separate book where I used to draw different artistic images. And so, when I joined high school in 2002, I was extremely excited to pursue my dream because Art was then included on the National Academic Carriculum. My creatives included visual art, Music, Dance and Drama, Interior Designing especially at home and writing short poems from lived experiences. However, my skill in Music, Dance & Drama were cut short by parents who did not want to see take that direction.

Steven, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a professional visual artist with a Bachelors Degree in Commercial Industrial Art and Design from Nkumba university in Uganda. Over the years, I actively participated in various art exhibitions at my former university, art competitions, commissioned work for painting generations of families, and other commissions. It should be noted that my art forms include; drawing, painting, batik, mosaics, collage, Weaving and basketry. I am a teacher and I taught Fine Art in different colleges in Uganda from 2012-2014 after my principal fired me for being gay. My works have a unique inspiration from the African setting due to the strong attachment to African life through my lived experiences. These unique stories are important to me as an artist being in position to explain each art piece I produce. In fact, I rarely do commercial art works, but on commission. This is because, the many years I ventured into exploring my talent in doing a number of art works, many people took advantage of my skills and energy to manipulate me and walked away with so many of my remarkable art pieces at almost free cost. This discouraged me a lot because many creative artists in Uganda and in most parts of Africa are not respected or are being underrated. However, in 2017, I decided to share my artistic skills with the community that I am so attached to, and that’s the LGBTIQ community. The purpose was to help fellow queer community members in Uganda become self reliance by being in position to start up their own art businesses from the different genres, but as well challenging the status quo of the queer community. It should be noted that I am also a playwright, and one of my Play “Courage Rebirth” was produced by The National Queer Theater in New York City in 2022. I have also written several short plays and this year I was among the few queer Immigrant writers who were the recipients of PEN AMERICA 2024. Apparently, I am in collaboration with one of the biggest Theaters in Sydney Australia after being selected to submit three of my recent plays which shall be produced later this year in Sydney. I am also working with some diplomats in the US in Washington DC to produce some of my plays that I have been working on lately. It should be noted that one of my latest play was read in a high profile meetings in DC. More details shall be shared at a later stage.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I got fired from my teaching job in 2014 because of my sexuality, this was one of the difficult moments. However, it prompted me to re-strategize and decided to focus all my energies to support the LGBTIQ community. In so doing, I formed Visual Echoes for Human Rights Advocacy (VEHRA) in 2017 to offer life skills in art as well using sport as an advocacy tool. My active involvement in the LGBTIQ advocacy in one of the most hostile countries in the world, has constantly built my potential to navigate the many challenges in order to protect and serve the most vulnerable population. I have tested many clashes with homophobic people, but I have decided not to give up.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to leave strong foot prints that would accommodate the young creative queer artists who will come after me. I want to be remembered for using my creativity to support others who need support the most. My resilience, the voice and connection is what has helped me offer the strong impact to the LGBTIQ community.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/stevenmuleme?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eyer2
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-muleme-
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/krestlear2

Image Credits

N/A