Vien Tumusiime

Vien Tumusiime is a painter who is experimenting with different art forms and techniques to produce a book that fuses writing, poetry and painting. He is currently the founding direct or of The Roundabout; an initiative where he seeks to give back to the artist community, by enriching artist careers through law, psychology and networking.

Vien took on the residency in 2019 during his second year in law school.

Since the residency itself felt like a rebellion, a contrast from the rigid structure of law school, he delved further into the theme. During the residency, he explored themes of rebellion and oppression in our society, particularly on black bodies, through experimenting with paintings and collages. Law school had instilled a deep sense of autonomy and he chose to use the residency as an opportunity to further explore this fight of the black body for self-ownership. Through questioning racial politics, beauty standards and ownership of one’s body, Vien sought to express the importance of rebelliousness in our society and how embracing difference is crucial for any society. All his research culminated in a final piece of acrylic and pastel on an old board that depicted his interpretation of the spirit of rebellion, where one rejects the expectations of society and strips themselves to expose the “monster beneath. Through his residency, he sought to show the importance of fighting and staying autonomous. The residency was Viens’s first real interaction with the artist community and it allowed him to safely explore his boundaries whilst discovering his own place in the community.