Rosemary Karuga
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Rosemary Namuli Karuga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 June 1928 |
| Died | February 9, 2021 (aged 92) |
| Occupations | Visual artist, teacher |
Rosemary Namuli Karuga (19 June 1928 – 9 February 2021) was a Kenyan visual artist.[1][2] In 2017, she was named Artist of the Month by the National Museums of Kenya. She is known to be the first woman artist to have studied at Makerere University.[3][4][5][6]
Karuga was born on 19 June 1928[7] in Meru, Kenya to a Ugandan father and a Kenyan mother, the youngest of two daughters.[7] As a young child her love of art led her to draw on the walls of the house in charcoal, which was not met with approval by her parents.[8][2] Her father worked as a driver and was a strong believer in the benefits of education and encouraged his children in their studies.[2] She attended St. Theresa Primary School in Eastleigh, Nairobi, where the Irish nuns recognised her artistic talent and encouraged her to study further.[9] She excelled at geography and nature studies and trained as a teacher after completing her school education.[2]
Age 21, Karuga attended the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts, Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda where she studied design, painting and sculpture between 1950 and 1952. She was the first female graduate of the university.[2] She specialised in sculpture whilst at university.[3][4][5][6] One of her tutors was Gregory Maloba.[10] Karuga worked in commercial art for a short period before returning to Kenya.[9]