Ruwenzori Foundation is a UK registered charity number 1106162 formed in 2004 by six UK trustees.
The impetus driving the idea was a belief that ‘good news also comes out of Africa’ where so much talent can flourish given an environment which allows it.
We built an Art Centre managed by a team of Ugandans in Kyemihoko village 11 kms north of Kasese in Western Uganda. The facilities include a gallery space, parkland, artists’s studio and foundry workshops all set in 80 acres of what was impoverished agricultural land.
The Foundation is principally funded by Pangolin Editions, Parabola Land and Total Solutions Ltd .
Aims
Our aims are threefold.
– Culture: the promotion, support and sponsorship of cultural exchange between Africa and the wider world.
– Conservation: the restoration and expansion of the biodiversity of the environment where our Ugandan Art Centre is based.
– Community: the provision of health care, recognising the importance of a healthy community and the social support required for a well-rounded, balanced and inclusive society.
Fundraising
In June 2008 five donated sculptures were auctioned by Christie’s, London and achieved a magnificent total, kickstarting the work of the Foundation on the ground. We are exceedingly grateful to The Lynn Chadwick Estate, The Angus Fairhurst Estate, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas for their generous donations.
We are indebted to the many other artists who kindly donate works which are included in fundraising exhibitions at Gallery Pangolin and Pangolin London, all proceeds from the sale of which go directly to the Foundation.
Valuable funds are also raised through the sale of donated Artworks at bespoke fundraising exhibitions.
For further information please contact Gallery Pangolin: 01453 889765 or [email protected]
Trustees
Initially conceived by the directors of Pangolin Editions and Parabola Land Ltd., the Board of the Ruwenzori Foundation now consists of six Trustees:
Jane Buck
During my fulfilling thirty-year career in the Art World I developed and ran a successful commercial gallery and worked closely with many artists, both UK-based and international. I am now retired and have the time and energy to devote to my many interests, including nature, gardening and the Arts.
Craig Jenkins
Most of my professional career has been in management consultancy and finance, often working within international and quoted organisations. I am currently a Director of a number of companies in the UK and Europe, and have acted as a Trustee for Charities including the Royal Commonwealth Society, Mind, Green Standards and 44AD Artspace. I am a graduate of Exeter University, where I studied economic and political development and I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Rungwe Kingdon
Co-Founder and Director of Pangolin Editions sculpture foundry, I grew up in Kampala, Uganda around Makerere University Campus and Art School. Out of this creative environment grew a lifelong passion for the Arts, leading to my career researching and making art as well as promoting and supporting artists. It was also in Uganda, while assisting my father Jonathan Kingdon in collating fieldwork data for his scientific research, that my strong passion for the natural world developed.
Zuleika Kingdon
I am a film maker of broad-ranging experience, from working in China on Channel 4's Bafta-winning series ‘Beyond the Clouds’ for River Films, to making my own films both in the UK and Uganda. I have freelanced in all aspects of production and mentored new talent with BBC development. In 2009 I co-founded Distant Object Productions which has a wide corporate, arts and educational client base. During lockdown, I also co-founded Films for Change which focuses more specifically on environmental and social video production. Born in Uganda, my passion for the arts and nature was nurtured growing up on Makerere University art campus in Kampala.
Claude Koenig
An art curator and sculpture specialist, I was born and raised in Mauritius, part of the African Union. I had a carefree childhood in its unspoilt coastal environment which gave me a profound awareness of the natural world and its wildlife. My contribution to the Foundation bridges both of these fields. I started Pangolin Editions sculpture foundry in 1985 with Rungwe Kingdon and its associated Gallery Pangolin and Pangolin London, both focused on promoting sculpture and related works.
Peter Millican
For almost 20 years I have run a concert hall in London and am deeply committed to making a contribution to the disadvantaged in Uganda and Tanzania. As well as being a director of Ruwenzori Foundation I run a water aid charity in Tanzania which has constructed around 300 wells over a 25 year period with new ones being added every year.
RSF Uganda Ltd. Directors
To facilitate the smooth function of Ruwenzori Foundation UK, we needed a sister foundation in Uganda. Established in 2008 the RWENZORI SCULPTURE FOUNDATION LTD in Uganda consists of three directors, allowing us to better support, sponsor, coordinate and make things happen on the ground.
Emmanuel Basaza
Originally from Kisoro in South Western Uganda, I was born and raised in Kampala. From an early age I was passionate about drawing and as this passion developed I went on to study Fine Art at Makerere University where I graduated in 2002. It was there that I participated in Ruwenzori Foundation sponsored workshops for the bronze casting of sculpture. In 2005 I was one of three Ugandans awarded a three-year apprenticeship by the Foundation to train in Bronze casting at Pangolin Editions in the UK. With my freshly qualified fellow bronze casters I returned home in 2008 and together we set up Rwenzori Founders in Kyemihoko village near Kasese where I now live with my family. Later that year I became a director of RWENZORI SCULPTURE FOUNDATION LTD Uganda. My role is to manage and promote the work of the Foundation and train all staff in the craft of bronze casting at the on-site foundry RWENZORI FOUNDERS.
Rungwe Kingdon
A Bronze Founder and keen naturalist, I grew up on the Campus of Makerere University in Kampala Uganda during the 60’s and early 70’s. My father was a lecturer at the Art department and together with my mother, my parents collaborated on producing a book on the evolution of East African Mammals. My early involvement in assisting in both of their professional fields of expertise, hugely informed my future choice of working career. Uganda had a profound influence on my childhood and education and it has been my conscious ambition to use it in a positive way and preferably in Uganda.
Isaac Okwir
I was born and grew up in a village in Lira city, Northern Uganda. As a child I created my own play toys and with my siblings we used to compete in making clay cows in hundreds as a symbol of wealth in our miniature world. The one with the largest number of clay cows was deemed the wealthiest. At the end of the day all the “cows” were recycled in preparation for the next season of wealth creation. Little did I know that years later, this would shape my artistic life. I went on to study at Makerere University in Kampala where I graduated in Fine Art. There I took part in the Ruwenzori Foundation sponsored workshops and became very focussed on sculpture. From there grew a close collaboration with the foundation and over the years I was invited to participate in several sculpture residencies at the Art Centre. Recently I became a director of RSF Uganda and moved west with my family to live in Kyemihoko village near Kasese. My main role at the Foundation is to make sculpture, protect and improve the environment and focus on community relations.