Hassan Ssebunya is an artist of the Buganda tribal culture from Uganda. Hassan specializes in carving wood sculptures depicting Ugandan wildlife, traditional Bugandan masks and statues, and his own creative creations and designs. To browse a catalogue of sculptures and masks created by artist Hassan Ssebunya, click on the link at the bottom of the page. Hassan Ssebunya lives in the small village of Kayabwe located about two hours drive southeast from Kampala on the Masaka Road. There, where the Masaka Road crosses the Equator, Hassan has is small workshop where he and his two brothers make artwork and sell their pieces to the tourists that stop there to have their picture taken at the Equator crossing. This is Hassan’s only job which can make his life very challenging at times because the demand for his artwork is seasonal when there is a steady flow of tourists to his village to visit the Equator, but when the tourists do not come to Kayabwe it is very difficult for him to find markets for his art. This is one reason why Hassan was so enthusiastic to partner with KWABLA Global Links because he recognized immediately that this could create markets for his artwork year-round and give him extra income during the slow tourism seasons. Hassan Ssebunya is 24 years old but has already been working as a full-time artisan creating his hand-carved and hand-painted artworks for over eight years. Hassan personally performs all the steps in the process of creating his sculptures. For instance, it is Hassan who goes into the forests with his ax and knives to cut pieces of the Rosewood, Mahogany, Ebony and other woods that he uses to carve his sculptures. Hassan picks out the best pieces of wood and is especially excited when he is able to harvest the valuable two-tone Rosewood or deep-dark Mahogany wood. Once Hassan has chosen his wood he performs the carving using such rudimentary hand tools as: axes, sharp knives, various kinds of chisels, sandpaper, glue and fillers all in the process of shaping the wood and sculpting it into a finished piece. Often Hassan will carve ornate details or add color to his sculptures by painting them to demonstrate his artistic talents and give the finished artworks more appeal. Watch this video interview between Marthias Mulumba and artist Hassan Ssebunya describing how he hand-carves traditional African sculptures and masks from Uganda: When KWABLA met Hassan we asked him some questions about what he would like to see improved in his life or what he hoped for the future and his responses really impressed us. Hassan said that most of all he wanted to expand his art business and become an international artisan so that he would be better able to help the poor in his village. His goals were to have wide demand for his sculptures and masks and to sell his artworks on large markets around the world. Hassan went on to add that he specifically hoped to someday have the money to be ableto build a health center in his village of Kayabwe because they have a real problem of lacking enough hospitals and no clinics within a close distance of his village. Needless to say, KWABLA was impressed that such a young man facing the challenges that Hassan deals with on a daily basis would have such lofty goals and possess such strong moral values as those he demonstrated. KWABLA is very proud to represent up-and-coming artist Hassan Ssesbunya and offer his artworks in the hope of helping him to realize his goals. To browse a catalogue of unique hand-carved sculptures, masks and other creations created by artist Hassan Ssebunya of the Buganda tribal culture from Uganda, click on the icon below. Catalogue of Sculptures & Masks by Hassan Ssebunya