Biography
Dominick Lukandwa

Artist Lukandwa Dominic born in 1981 in Masaka district in Southern Uganda brings to life Ugandan scenes using wax and dyes on fabric. Batik is an old form of art that is even traced to the era of the Pharaohs in Egypt.

It involves the use of hot wax to block certain areas of the fabric and permanent dyes are used. It’s widely used in East Asian countries especially in Java, Indonesia. It’s believed that batik was introduced to Uganda by Dutch and French missionaries in the 1950s.

Dominic is a member of the International Batik Guild, a UK based organisation for recognised batik artists and has exhibited his batiks in the UK, Poland and the USA. He is inspired by nature and cultural practices of Ugandan tribes. In recent years his batik artworks touched the issue of urban transport and offering solutions to the congestion. In 2019 KCCA commissioned him to do a batik that showed how green solutions can solve the city’s traffic issues.

In 2022, Oxford University Press commissioned him for a book cover about the issues of debt and solutions in Africa. He is also a batik art teacher and taught in Dar es salaam (International school of Tanganyika (2015)., Acacia International school in Muyenga (2019). From 2023 to present he has an ongoing project to equip Ugandan primary and secondary school kids in rural schools with batik skills. The batiks they produce are sold in the USA and the money is paid back to the school as fees for them.

Munene’s work is now available through the Almasi Art Agency gallery in Diani Beach, where he will participate in the “New Discoveries” Exhibition 2024.