Stella Mercy Atal

Here is a transcript of an interview I did with Stella Atal, Ugandan Fashion Designer and Artist. In the interview, we explore questions around the growth and sustainability of the fashion industry in Uganda.

Download transcript in Word or PDF here.

Stella Atal in conversation:
...
Stella Atal

Here is a transcript of an interview I did with Stella Atal, Ugandan Fashion Designer and Artist. In the interview, we explore questions around the growth and sustainability of the fashion industry in Uganda.

Download transcript in Word or PDF here.

Stella Atal in conversation:
...
Stella Atal

- Stella Mercy Atal, Artist/Painter from Uganda

In 2004, Africa Meets Africa hosted Stella Atal in a special broadcast segment that featured African Women Entrepreneurs.Creativity, originality and a visible connection to their cultural style and expression as business owners were elements of the criteria.She was uncovered during the production team's search for a female African entrepreneur that lived and worked on the continent.Stella Atal was selected and featured along with two other notable African women entrepreneurs that live in the DC area.

Following her studies, Stella was hired at one of Uganda's first art houses.In her capacity as design director & production manager, she had a seminal influence on developing a look that has since become synonymous with cutting edge Ugandan design.After four years, she had outgrown the constraints of her employers' limited vision and decided to give free rein to her own.Encouraged by the lively interest shown in her work, Stella started making her own pieces, supplying several outlets in Kampala and Jinja.Her steady sales of work, together with a small group of clients she supplies directly, allows Stella to pay her younger sister's school fees and maintain her artistic life.

In addition to her artistic pursuits, Stella is a member of the International Women's Organization and was commissioned to design the logo for the international conference on gender to be hosted at Uganda's premier university, Makerere, in Kampala.

She has also been a member of a local non-profit organization, Youth Alive, since her teenage years.Having trained as a counselor for people with HIV and street children, Stella is still an active member of the organization and on-call in case of emergency.Having had a traumatic start to her life, Stella fully appreciates the value of care and support in the face of personal tragedy.Just as significantly, she recognizes the importance of a good example, and hopes to show, through both her voluntary work and her art, that outstanding achievement and hope can grow out of the most desperate of situations.

Stella Atal's art work will be showcased at a one time display on Monday,

November 7th 2005 at the District of Columbia's Art Center at 2348 18th Street NW.6:30pm - 9:30pm. (http://www.dcartscenter.org)

Stella Atal with Former US Ambassador to Uganda, Jimmy Kolker
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Stella with Frmr.
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Stella Atal with Ryme K. of Voices with Vision - WPFW

An African Art Exhibit & Reception featuring Ugandan artist and painter, Stella Atal.
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(PRWEB) November 3, 2005 -- In 2004, Africa Meets Africa hosted Stella Atal as guest in a special broadcast segment that featured African Women Entrepreneurs.Creativity, originality and a visible connection to their cultural style and expression as business owners was a part of the criteria.She was uncovered during the production team's search for a female African entrepreneur that lived and worked on the continent.Stella Atal was selected and featured along with two other notable African women entrepreneurs that live in the DC area.

Following her studies, Stella was hired at one of Uganda's first art houses.In her capacity as design director & production manager, she had a seminal influence on developing a look that has since become synonymous with cutting edge Ugandan design.After four years, she had outgrown the constraints of her employers' limited vision and decided to give free rein to her own.Encouraged by the lively interest shown in her work, Stella started making her own pieces, supplying several outlets in Kampala and Jinja.Her steady sales of work, together with a small group of clients she supplies directly, allows Stella to pay her younger sister's school fees and maintain her artistic life.

In addition to her artistic pursuits, Stella is a member of the International Women's Organization and was commissioned to design the logo for the international conference on gender to be hosted at Uganda's premier university, Makerere, in Kampala.She has also been a member of a local non-profit organization, Youth Alive, since her teenage years.Having trained as a counselor for people with HIV and street children, Stella is still an active member of the organization and on-call in case of emergency.Having had a traumatic start to her life, Stella fully appreciates the value of care and support in the face of personal tragedy.Just as significantly, she recognizes the importance of a good example, and hopes to show, through both her voluntary work and her art, that outstanding achievement and hope can grow out of the most desperate of situations.

Stella Atal, Uganda stellaatai@hotmail.com atalstella@yahoo.com
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Born in 1979, the third child of Kenyan and Ugandan parents, Stella Mercy Atal survived a kidnapping attempt and seven years of civil war to become one of Uganda's most promising young artists and designers.Her interest in art stems from the time she spent, as a five year-old, with her two older brothers as they painted in their makeshift workshop. Stella gives credit primarily to her mother--a teacher and nurse by profession--for enabling her to gain the education so vital to the development of her inborn talent."It was my mother who sacrificed the little she had during the harsh conditions we were in at that time to see that I achieved some little education."The 'little education' turned out to be more than enough, allowing Stella to continue to advanced level and on to undergraduate studies at Kampala's prestigious Institute for Technology & Education at Kyambogo (ITEK). Following her studies, Stella was hired at one of Uganda's first art houses.In her capacity as design director & production manager, she had a seminal influence on developing a look that has since become synonymous with cutting edge Ugandan design.After four years, she had outgrown the constraints of her employers' limited vision and decided to give free rein to her own.Encouraged by the lively interest shown in her work, Stella started making her own pieces, supplying several outlets in Kampala and Jinja.Her steady sales of work, together with a small group of clients she supplies directly, allows Stella to pay her younger sister's school fees and maintain her artistic life. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Stella is a member of the International Women's Organisation and was commissioned to design the logo for the international conference on gender to be hosted at Uganda's premier university, Makerere, in Kampala.She has also been a member of a local non-profit Organisation, Youth Alive, since her teenage years.Having trained as a counselor for people with HIV and street children, Stella is still an active member of the Organisation and on call in case of emergency.Having had a traumatic start to her own life, Stella fully appreciates the value of care and support in the face of personal tragedy.Just as significantly, she recognizes the importance of a good example, and hopes to show, through both her voluntary work and her art, that outstanding achievement and hope can grow out of the most desperate of situations. wpe35.jpg (48882 bytes)Transition, Stella Atal, 2002, 22by33inches, acrylic on canvas.
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Stella Atal, 2002. wpe32.jpg (49253 bytes)Equality Call, Stella Atal, 2002, 22by33inches, acrylics on canvas. "This triptych focuses on the theme of women in medicine.Its stylized, graphical central panel shows a woman's hand holding a full syringe at the moment before administration.The two side panels show women as doctor and nurse, one administering a heavily pregnant patient, and the other attending the needs of the new born infant.Together these images invoke the complex role of the modern, African working woman, deftly deploying her new-found expertise and inherent caring skills.It is fitting that the inspiration behind this work is the artist's mother, herself a trained nurse."Stella Atal, 2002.Uganda wpe30.jpg (49253 bytes)Empowered Soul, Stella Atal, 2002, 15 by 25inches acrylic on barkcloth. "Through our hands, a traditional metonym for human endeavors, we put our knowledge to work, creating our culture and reaching our full potential as human beings.In Empowered Soul, it is the hands, as well as the head, that do the empowering.The moral is ambiguous--it is not enough to know, or simply subscribe to certain values--we must put them into action as well."Stella Atal, 2002.Uganda wpe2F.jpg (49253 bytes)Weaving Lives, Stella Atal, 2002, 16 by 22inches, acrylic on recycled paper. "The ideas of caring, nurturing, empowerment, and freedom of expression, are exemplified within this rural African landscape--the idyll of harmonious communal co-existence.Its reference to traditional life strongly suggests that there is much from the past that we can both learn and seek to continue.This simple scene stands as a symbol for the social context in which women must act; but also, it is shown that African women work collectively for the good of the community--they are both metaphorically and literally weaving lives."Stella Atal, 2002.Uganda wpe34.jpg (48882 bytes)Bewitched, Stella Atal, 2002, 15 by 22inches, acrylic on barkcloth.
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Stella Atal, 2002. Stella Atal's narrative, pictorial work represents a marriage of significant autobiographical detail and simple, yet powerful icononographical cues.She creates a personal artistic language remarkable for its elegance, intimacy, and lucidity.Taken together, Stella's art pieces represent a snapshot of the most important influences and aspirations in her life to this date. This artist can be contacted at: atalstella@yahoo.com (Stella Atal).