past exhibition
Sanaa Gateja: Selected Works
Presenting the New England premiere of four large-scale artworks by Ugandan artist Sanaa Gateja
Prior to becoming one of the most prominent artists in East Africa, Sanaa Gateja (Ugandan, b. 1950) studied interior design in Italy and jewelry design at Goldsmiths in London. His intricate works oscillate between abstraction and figuration.
Each composition is a new exploration, a novel exercise in shaping forms or patterns with color and vice versa. Gateja’s art is primarily created using beads made from recycled paper, which he rolls, dyes, and affixes to bark cloth. This signature technique has earned him the nickname “the Bead King” in his home country, and for the last thirty years, he has taught it to local communities and across the entire region.
For his skill-sharing, teaching, and mentoring, which has resulted in the creation of new employment opportunities in rural areas, the artist was awarded the 2016 Bayimba Honors for philanthropic work.
This exhibition closely follows his inclusion in the 58th Carnegie International and his first solo show, at Karma in New York City.
Support provided by the Kimon & Anne Zachos Exhibition Fund.
On view through January 15, 2024.
Sanaa Gateja
Growing Seeds, 2023
Paper beads on barkcloth
71 x 61¼ in.; 180.34 x 155.57 cm
© Sanaa Gateja. Courtesy of the artist and Karma
Sanaa Gateja
Home, 2021
Paper, acrylic stitched on bark cloth
82⅝ x 66⅞ in.; 210 x 170 cm
© Sanaa Gateja. Courtesy of the artist and Karma
Sanaa Gateja
Look over Yonder, 2020
Paper beads on barkcloth
83¼ x 65¼ in.; 211.45 x 165.74 cm
© Sanaa Gateja. Courtesy of the artist and Karma
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.