Meet Ashuza Casinga Joshua, aka “Josby”, a Congolese refugee artist living in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Josby just turned 15 on July 15th!
He is an active member of the Nakivale Young Talent Community (NYTC) artist collective and also serves as one of their facilitators, teaching and guiding young students studying art of which there are currently 40.
Josby arrived in Nakivale in 2017 with his two parents and thirteen siblings, fleeing war and conflict in his home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo. DRC is host to one of the world's most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises, centered particularly in the east of the country. More than 2.1 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2017 alone — equivalent to an average of 50 families fleeing every hour, every day.
Despite the challenges of being uprooted from his home and fleeing to a new country where he was faced with more challenges including learning a new language, Josby found solace in artistic self-expression. He always enjoyed drawing, ever since he was young. But it wasn’t until he really started applying himself and learning in 2020 that he started to develop his skills “I got much time for using art to express my feelings and experiences to others in the camp.”
He knew very little about art at first, but through feedback from his fellow artists and researching more on his own about art he made incredible progress in a short period of time.
He excelled to such a high level of technical skill and creative expression as an artist that he won first prize in a Ugandan Art competition organized by the Prime Minister and FACESUP UGANDA for youth ages 5 to 15 in 2022. “For the first time, art helped my family.”
Living in Nakivale is challenging for all. Each individual receives a $5 monthly stipend which is not ever enough to cover food, medical and other daily expenses of life. Many children do not get sufficient food or medical treatment. As a result, the opportunity to make art and sell it - either as prints or originals - is a way for these young refugee artists to earn a living and provide for their families.
This is why when Josby’s home caught on fire, he faced what he called the biggest disappointments in his life.
My biggest disappointment was when I lost all my artworks in a fire that destroyed our house, but it helped me to develop many positive and different ideas to draw and taught me to not give up, cause I believed that my art could change this world. The fire did not burn the whole house so we rebuilt the burnt area with the help of our neighbours who knew how to build.
With all that Josby faces in daily life living in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, art and community are what buoys Josby’s spirit. “My favorite thing about drawing and painting is that they are simple and easier to understand according to the story which they hold. I like it because it's my simplest way to express my feelings and send messages to others.”
Although he is still in school himself - he will finish the last class of primary this year and move on to secondary school next year - he is able to teach other students at NYTC during the holidays and often in the evening after class. Other teachers who have graduated high school teach in the morning as well.
He first met Akon Deograce, founder of NYTC, when the organization was organizing models and dancers. When, NYTC started to become an arts education center, he joined in as an artist facilitator.
I met Josby for the first time at the June 1st online Nakivale Young Refugee Artist exhibit which I co-hosted with Akon Deograce of NYTC and Elijah Astute of GoGreen (fka BioGreen).
At that event, Josby exhibited an artpiece in colored pencil called “The Leaders We Want.”
I asked Josby what he prefers for a medium - pencil or acrylic - as well as how long it takes him to make a piece.
I love working with pencils and colour pencils because they are cheap and easier to find here in the camp but acrylic is my favorite because it's brilliant and lasts longer. It takes me one week or more to make a big artwork and three or four days to make better small sized paintings. I like my two last paintings named THE ONLY MISTAKE WE MAKE and WAY TO SUCCESS.
Josby’s Art on RedBubble
While we research better ways to offer prints and ship originals, Josby’s artwork and all of the other art pieces by NYTC artists are on a RedBubble site that I manage on their behalf. Prints and merchandise with their art can be purchased there; 00% of proceeds are given back to the artists.
The following two pieces are the most recent creations by Josby. His description of each piece is below.
The Only Mistake We Make, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 80 cm x 65 cm
This painting shows the life we live everywhere in the world. It shows a kid trying to show out his skill but life and some people don’t want it to happen. I painted this child in the dark background to show that life is difficult and some hands preventing him to show out what he does. We can not know what is inside someone if we don’t give him/her that chance to show it. You can’t know what I am capable to do if you don’t give me time and the chance to show it. Once we are free, we can show you what you didn’t expect to see and change/save lives than how you expected. Leave no one behind and together we can make greater things and unforgettable in this world.
Way To Success, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 59 cm x 80 cm
This painting is of a kid who is being pushed up towards the light. This message is for all the parents, guardians, and everyone who wants to see progress and develop new ideas through someone he/she is helping. Most children have different skills and talents but if we want them to shine inside their brains and help the development of this world, we need to push them up without regarding the life we live in because one person can lead and bring light to all of us once helped by the community. We need to accelerate our children’s chances to achieve their dreamed goals because good decisions about planning your life to be in the future starts from the young age and experienced. He wears a brightened crown to show that he has a bright future from being supported by the community.
Teaching the Next Generation of Nakivale Artists
Unfortunately, the decades-long war in DRC continues. And, new refugees arrive every day in Nakivale from DRC as well as 12 other war-torn, conflict-ridden, and climate-change-distressed countries. As such, there are entire generations growing up and living in Nakivale with no way out in sight. Teaching art, mentoring the next generation of artists, and working together as a collective to earn enough income to make a living to lead a “dignified life” is an achievable goal for the Nakivale Young Talent Community artists.
I enjoy teaching children drawing. Other than the lack of drawing and painting supplies and materials, the only challenge that remains are a trainers' stipend and access to a wider market for the older more established artists to sell their work to generate income for themselves and their families.
This reality does not, however, in any way stop Josby nor his fellow artists from having big dreams for their future.
Vivid Dreams for the Future
My dream is to become a professional artist, to share my stories everywhere in the world and inspire others. I want to use my talent to make a difference in this world!
Josby also writes stories to accompany his art. In fact, sometimes it is the other way around. He will write a story first and then illustrate it. The artists plan to produce illustrated storybooks in the future with watercolors.
Working Artist for Hire
Josby, like all of the NYTC artists, is eager to show his artwork and even happy to do commission pieces. He has sold 3 of his artworks and painted a commission of 20 other art pieces.
He also surprised me for my 50th birthday with a color pencil portrait! Which he has promised me that he will hang up in the new Art Education Center that the artists are in the process of building. While shipping originals is possible, we have not yet figured out the logistics and pricing. So, I asked him to kindly hang me up on the wall there in Nakivale.
If you are interested in a commission by Josby, DM me and we will make it work!
Where in the World is Josby?
Nakivale is located in Southwest Uganda and is the oldest refugee settlement in Africa, established in 1959 when the Tutsis fled one of the first conflicts in Rwanda.
Nakivale Settlement sits on 71 square miles and houses 182,000 refugees as of December 2023. The settlement is made up of 79 villages each with an average of 800-1,000 people. The population is primarily made up of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Josby, Nakivale Young Refugee Artist