Ugandan artist uses China stay to inspire students

Early this year, he attended the ninth edition of the Beijing International Art Biennale virtually.

He says that the biennale is an important platform for African artists to showcase their work together with artists from across the globe.

"There are many artists from different countries who take part in this biennale and, by doing this, African artists are exchanging their culture with the rest of the world through visual communication," he says. "Africans will also increase their scope of understanding by sharing different approaches to the various art forms."

Ssajjabbi is sharing his China experience with his students at Kabale University.

Through art, one can appreciate and also inspire others to love their culture, he says. "The Chinese have preserved their culture, which they are sharing with the rest of the world through art, therefore we need to benchmark and follow suit."

Ssajjabbi says that art is a key component in the development of a country. "In almost every industry in a country, art is applied to promote development," he notes.

He says that, after he obtains his doctorate, he hopes to use the knowledge to guide students at higher levels of education, especially in research, and to also improve his painting.