Nikissi Serumaga

Nikissi Serumaga is a Kampala-based independent filmmaker and visual artist. Born in Toronto and raised in Johannesburg and Kampala, she holds a BA in Film Studies from York University. She has completed three short films and is currently directing her debut documentary feature. She is currently an artist in residency with the Wysing Arts Centre. Nikissi is the creator, director, and co-host (along with Bobby Kolade) of VINTAGE OR VIOLENCE, a six-part limited podcast series that explores the world of secondhand clothing from a Ugandan perspective.

In 2019, Serumaga was in residency at 32° East as one of two artists in the Pictures of Ageing project which was done in partnership with University of Cambridge, Infectious Diseases Institute and the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial Fine Art, Makerere University. In her work, she creates bite-sized content that blurs the lines between fiction and documentary. Nakito and Nanfuka were the lead contributors to her project. Through them, photo, video, audio and household materials, she learned about their shared lives and what ageing means to them. Scattered around both houses were old mikeeka, mats woven from papyrus. In light of the conversation around maintaining relevance in older years, Serumaga began working with papyrus mats to transform these old, forgotten household objects into paper for new use.