Still I Rise

Still I Rise

**Sarah Nakiito & Liisa-Irmelen Liwata
**Curated by Elham Rahmati & Vidha Saumya

Kunsthalle Seinäjoki

6.9.2025 - 7.2.2026

Taking its title from Maya Angelou’s iconic poem And Still I Rise (1978), this exhibition by Sarah Nakiito and Liisa-Irmelen Liwata weaves together two practices rooted in resilience, ancestral memory, and the ever-evolving act of self-definition. Their works navigate the emotional and political terrain of survival, where defiant hope, tactile materiality, and deeply personal mythologies converge.

Sarah Nakiito’s practice is shaped by the duality of her lived experience between Sweden and Uganda. Her works examine contrasting cultural responses to crisis, drawing attention to the instinctive collectivism in migrant and diasporic communities versus the individualism often present in Western contexts. This tension is embodied through her use of bark cloth: Olubugo, a traditional Ugandan material, is interwoven with the inner bark of the linden tree—once vital in Swedish pre-industrial society. This fusion creates a living, breathing textile—one that charts the convergence of Nakiito’s layered identities and histories. Her work resists erasure, not only honoring tradition but actively sustaining it as a contemporary, evolving practice.

Liisa-Irmelen Liwata’s work turns inward and skyward. Rooted in the concept of napa—the Finnish word for “belly button”—her practice explores the navel as both physical origin and central point of orientation. This duality becomes a metaphorical compass, guiding an exploration of cultural identity, bodily memory, and belonging. Through symbolic instruments of navigation—compasses, celestial charts, and “belly button stars”—Liwata constructs a personal cartography. Her work traces constellations in the Finnish and Congolese sky, mapping parallel cosmic landscapes that reflect her own hybridity.

Together, Nakiito and Liwata create a space of open inquiry and assertive presence. Nakiito’s practice channels collective empowerment—an urgent act of rising and reclaiming space in the world. Liwata, by contrast, invites slow introspection, valuing the questions that emerge over any singular conclusion. As their practices intersect, viewers are drawn into a dynamic space: one of witnessing, reflection, and quiet rebellion.