Mwanga who lives and makes art in Brattleboro, moved to the U.S. in 2020, after his wife took a teaching job in Vermont. While he is also a sculptor, he has been focused on painting lately, working in the semi-abstract and realism genres, often painting with oil or acrylics on rough textures.
Much of his work reflects the African culture and activities he grew up with, including ceremonial dance, fishing, and farming, as well as daily village life. He also paints animals from the Great Lakes region of east Africa, notably, Uganda’s national bird, the crested crane.
“I try to focus on the idea of village life because it connects me back to my roots. At times, painting gives me the chance to relax and escape into the world of my childhood in Uganda,” Mwanga says in an artist statement.
“Whenever I see something interesting, I always want to paint it,” he adds. “Maybe to keep it in memory, bring it back again, or to try to paint it and change it. That’s one of the things which inspires me.”He hopes it will help the people who see it to make their own connections as well. “Some people, once they see my paintings, they will get to know how different cultures work,” he says. “Some of my paintings show the culture back home, and how people live in different areas. … And some people have been there. They can [have] memories. I think that will be one of the main takeaways when people come to my show.”
Outside of the studio, Mwanga is a soccer player and a rower. He is the assistant rowing coach at the Putney School and the former head coach of the Ugandan National Rowing Team.
Mwanga received a diploma from the Michelangelo School of Art in Kampala, Uganda in 2004 and has works in private collections and the collections of public institutions and churches in Kampala
