MOTIVATION LETTER
My name is Stuart Tibaweswa, a documentary photographer mainly interested in human stories that create identities and also show perspectives of diverse societies.
The F2 Foto Residency Opportunity, whose theme focuses on ‘identity’ is a very good topic for me as a visual storyteller because I have tried to focus on it while I document the Indian Community in my country. With this, I have acquired through research and talks on some information on how to go about projects to do with creating an identity for one’s subject.
Being selected for this opportunity will greatly develop my portfolio with the body of work that I would create. It will also extend and widen my coverage experience because I have never gotten a chance to travel out of my country to do a project or assignment. Because I love to do stories that challenge me as a photographer, I find a keen interest in documenting communities that have unlike cultures and ways of life. By this, I learn a lot about diverse cultures, explore, and also get to understand and tell stories of these communities through my perspective. This is also why I am currently doing a personal project on the Indian community.
Germany for one is those countries that I had never imagined to be in, so if I got this residency opportunity, it would also be amazing for my personal experience and exposure. I strongly believe, with assistance, I would do my best to document my proposed project and tell the story from my viewpoint.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
In The Land Of Beer
In Germany, Islam the largest minority religion with most people in the country lying under the Catholic and Anglican faith. It is believed that Muslims first moved in Germany due to diplomatic and economic relations with the country and the Ottoman Empire around the eighteenth century. Moslems in Germany are estimated to be covering about 7 percent of the country’s population as the majority of them are of Turkish origin and some from Pakistan and other neighboring Islam countries.
This project will be a documentation of the Moslem community in this country, particularly focusing on Dortmund. Knowing that Germany as a whole has completely different customs and beliefs from the Muslims, I am intrigued by how they manage the day to day life in the country. Germans are known for drinking a lot of beer and have been ranked the highest consumers of beer in Europe according to ‘Statista.com’ in 2017. This, therefore, asking me the question of how the minority religion relates and responds to this culture in the country which they do not believe in.
Germany, right from history, has been evidently rich and diverse when it comes to architecture. Cathedrals, palaces, castles best tell the story of Germany. In Dortmund, the Das Alte Hafenamt and Greek Orthodox Church and major infrastructure are Pre-Romanesque architecture that dates back to the beginning and these consist mostly of churches. My investigation will also look at how mosques in this area are built and if they depict or observe the Baroque and Romanistic style of art.
The story will involve finding Muslim communities and groups in Dortmund for example small families, mosques, or even Muslim individuals whom I will interview and engage with. My questions and topic will focus on;
- Muslim's social relations with other Germans.
- How they celebrate special Islam events in Dortmund, Germany.
- What is their way of life?
The final piece of the projects will consist of a series of images showing diverse Muslim communities or individuals in the country known for beer and how they have adopted and assimilated to the way of life of other cultures in the country focusing on Dortmund where the residency opportunity will happen.
CV
STUART TIBAWESWA
Age: 24years old (24.09.1995)
Address: Nansana, Kampala (Uganda)
Phone: +256 752447864
Email: s􀆟baweswa@gmail.com
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SUMMARY
Resourceful, hardworking, and enthusiastic emerging photographer eager to learn, with a general interest in visual arts. Participated in photography workshops and talks. Achiever of the Young Photographer Award 2017. Recognized in the Canon Street Photography Workshop 2016, Experts in Photography Contest 2017. Nominee in the 2018 Young Achievers Awards in the Film and Photography category.
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EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AND ASSIGNMENTS
Apr. 2017 – Now NBS Television, Content Photographer
2018 Save The Children Org, Service delivery project
2017 Goethe Zentrum Kampala, Refugees in Uganda (BidiBidi Se􀆩lement)
2018 Mes􀆟l Hotel (Kampala), Commercial Photoshoot
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PROJECTS
2020 Faces of Care, Lake Victoria Water Increase
2018 - N o w The Network
2018 The Network
2017 Surviving BidiBidi, Kampala
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PUBLISHMENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
2020 Witness Magazine, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung -Publishment
2018 UPPA 2018 Exhibition, Expacts In Photography Exhibition
2017 Open Doors Photography Workshop, Goethe Zentrum
