The Company
Company Ensibuko is the touring body of the organisation, dedicated to the creation, production, and presentation of films and performance works. Under the artistic vision of Koloto Siraji, the company develops solo productions and small ensemble pieces. Ensibuko creates performance works designed for a wide range of presentation contexts, including theatres, alternative venues, public spaces, and galleries. The company’s films are versatile, suitable for screenings, performance lectures, exhibitions, and installation.
Company Ensibuko is focused on creating work that resonates deeply with African realities, histories, and contemporary experiences. Its artistic approach is grounded in a model of creation that integrates ancestral wisdom, indigenous knowledge systems, and the everyday lives of African people. Through this practice, the company seeks to preserve, celebrate, and reimagine African cultural heritage while engaging with contemporary social, political, and environmental questions, positioning the company as a vital contributor to the evolving landscape of African Art
Works
Nabbuzana
Nabbuzana is an ongoing research and open space performance project exploring the African traditional ritual hwambula aimed at liberating spirits confined by humans, providing them their rightful freedom to exist in their own world without serving the interests of humans.
The study digs into concepts of spiritual imprisonment, examining the nonhuman existence and the traditional social dynamics within Ugandan communities. At its core, the project seeks to shed light on the state of young spirits named Nabbuzana, yearning for freedom of play but subjected to enslavement to fulfill human interests. By investigating the intricate concepts of spiritual confinement, the project challenges conventional perspectives on colonialism, extending the discourse beyond human-to-human interactions to encompass human-to-non-human relationships
BASAMBWA
Basambwa is a conceptual dance film that weaves in the relationship between art, nature and the human body. Focused on an Afro-centric artistry, criticism, and spiritual awareness. I play with the concepts of camouflage, mystery, human body installation and movement to create visuals that immerse experiences for people to explore their relationship to nature and the climate crisis, connecting human beings to a larger ecosystem. Nonhuman experiences are one important part to form an understanding of what nature is doing for us and how we can imagine and create healthy ways to inhabit our planet Earth. Especially in places where the degradation of the natural environment is so severe and there are no active policies to protect nature. And when people lose trust in those responsible for protecting the natural environment, their only hopes lay to a belief that they will sing the gods and dance the rituals of the rain to heal droughts.
VISITOR
“Visitor” is a Film/ performance installation work that digs into the political and historical context of Uganda, critically examining the teachings and writings of the nation’s history. It revisits the material and spatial-temporal realities of the country, aiming to expose the invisible colonial systems that continue to govern the nation. How can a generation seek its origins when history was neither written by its people nor intended for them? Like a falcon warped by lies, this work seeks to trace the roots and question the hosts of capitalism.
This project portrays the transformation, reinvention, and ascension of Ugandan and colonial identities, reflecting the complex interactions between colonial powers and those subjected to them. I offer my body here and now to transcend a simplistic vision of art, using it instead as a mirror to provoke change and refashion the nation.
Umukuka
In the ancestral cultures of the Bagisu, leaders and kings emerged through trials of profound humiliation and the most challenging human experiences. These individuals were embraced by their community and blessed by the spirits of the land, signifying their readiness to serve and protect their people. To be a king meant to have an inherent desire and commitment to safeguard the well-being of one’s land.
However, after the colonial wave in Uganda, a new debate arose within the Bagisu community, a proposal to introduce the concept of “Royal Blood,” limiting leadership to the descendants of the current king, regardless of their potential or ability