Katesi Kalange

Katesi Jacqueline Kalange is a process-based visual artist from Uganda whose work brings together sculpture, architecture, installation and performance art.

She holds a master’s degree in Art and Industrial Design from Kyambogo University in Uganda. Her practice draws deeply from African indigenous wisdom, particularly its historical role in shaping more harmonious ways of living between humans, nature, and other beings within shared ecosystems.

Working through community-driven collaborations, Katesi uses her art to spark public conversations about the relationship between people and the environment. In response to Uganda’s growing waste management challenges, especially the presence of non-biodegradable materials such as plastics and second-hand clothes, she explores recycling and upcycling through processes inspired by indigenous weaving techniques.

Her work often functions as an archive of ancestral knowledge, inviting audiences to reconsider the idea of nature as a resource to be exploited. Instead, she reimagines older systems of care, interdependence and respect for all life forms as tools for thinking about sustainability in contemporary society.

Through her ongoing series Nature Invasion, Katesi reflects on rapid urbanisation and the loss of green spaces in Uganda. Her installations imagine nature reclaiming the spaces it has lost, while drawing attention to its beauty, fragility and significance. Across her practice, she brings together indigenous knowledge, environmental advocacy, sensory experience and collective making to encourage more sustainable and connected ways of living.