Lilian M. Nabulime (PhD), is a Senior Lecturer and former Head of the Sculpture Department in the School of Industrial and Fine Arts (CEDAT) at Makerere University in Kampala. Nabulime earned a Ph.D. in Fine Art from Newcastle University in 2007. Her research focused on sculptural forms as a tool of communication for women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. In her artistic practice, Nabulime uses ordinary objects such as soap, sieves, clothing, mirrors, cans, metal parts of cars, and other found materials to address specific social issues related to disease, gender, and the environment. Through her work, Nabulime attempts to push the meaning of art beyond its visual quality to instead raise awareness about issues facing society, and promote discussion among viewers.
Nabulime has been awarded numerous fellowships, including the Commonwealth Fellowship Award (UK, 1997, 2012), Robert Sterling Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center (USA, 2011), African Stones Talk Sculpture Symposium (Kenya, 2011), British Academy International Visiting Fellowship (UK, 2009 and 2008, and a Residency Award by Mind Power Projects at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and Living Classrooms in Baltimore, Maryland (2015). From 2019 to 2020, Nabulime was a Residency Artist at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design’s Ceramics and Glass Department in Jerusalem, Israel. Her work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions in several countries including the United States (2015-2013), Rome (2009-2010), the United Kingdom (1997-2016), Denmark (2007, 2014, 2017-2018), Norway (2020, 2006, 2004), Sweden (2001, 2014, 2018), Rwanda (2014), Belgium (1997), Kenya (1995-2004, 2016, 2017), South Africa (1995), Mozambique (1995), Namibia (1998), Zimbabwe (1995), Algeria (2009), and Germany (1998). Her most recent commission (2021) seeks to raise awareness about the risks and responses to schistosomiasis in Uganda and other communities in the Great Lakes Region - Commissioned by: SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies, London UK.)
