Born in Kampala, Uganda (1963), Dr Lilian Nabulime trained at the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art (MTSIFA) at Makerere University.
At Makerere University , she was guided by Francis Nnaggenda who is regarded as one of the greatest educators and sculptors the African continent has ever produced. Lilian obtained her PhD at Newcastle University, United Kingdom, with her dissertation on “The Role of Sculptural Forms as a Communication Tool in Relation to the Lives and Experiences of Women with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.” She currently lives and works in Kampala, Uganda and is a senior lecturer at Makerere University alongside her busy studio practice.Since the 1990s, Dr Nabulime has built a body of work recording the societal pressures and their effects on women and children that is unique in its honesty and tenderness. Describing herself as a ‘social being’ continuously affected by the events faced by her community, her practice offers a subjective registry of these events, the ensuing emotions and pressures, always with a look to empowering her subjects. Through her work, Dr Nabulime often delves into themes such as familial and social relations, taboos, stigmas around HIV infections and experiences of young women on campus. Dr Nabulime’s works often juxtapose reclaimed monumental tree parts and roots with found and recycled materials such as soda cans, chains and plastic. Reclamation, recycling and working with found objects crafted by local artisans have been fundamental to her practice, allowing her to fold the stories behind these objects and their symbolisms into her works.