Fashion, art and music illuminate Guinness Bright House event

The Guinness Bright House is always a home for creatives, but the fashion, art, and music edition that took place on Saturday, June 29, at the Garden City rooftop in Kampala was truly unforgettable.

The event kicked off at around 3:00pm, setting the stage for an evening brimming with creativity. The lineup of acts, exhibitors, and master creators promised a feast for the senses, and they delivered splendidly.

The Guinness Bright House is an immersive platform that unites creative minds under one roof, fostering interaction, collaboration, and the celebration of extraordinary talent. This time, they truly outdid themselves.

As attendees entered the Bright House, they were immediately enveloped in the vibrant world of Guinness and creativity. Garden City rooftop transformed into a home for fashion enthusiasts, art lovers, and music aficionados alike. The fashion zone was a spectacle, featuring northern Uganda fashion genius Fix by Oringa, who wowed revellers with her colourful designs.

“My brand FIXBYORINGA creates modern African print fashion for the modern girls to stand out on purpose,” she said. “My creations are inspired by the need for modern girls to still rock our roots—that’s African print fashion but the modern way.”

Obonire showcased her stunning head wraps, and there was a pop-up exhibition by Denim Cartel, who was also the fashion master of the day.

The art space offered a digital art experience like no other. Art lovers mingled with Natasha Karungi, aka Kashushu, the digital art extraordinaire, and even got the chance to contribute to a live digital mural. “My goal is to recreate African mythologies and bring back the storytelling of our ancestors,” she said. Kashushu, a self-taught illustrator, says the buyers of her artworks are mainly art enthusiasts, and she uses digital mediums like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, and ProCreate for her works.

In the music space, revellers took turns joining producer extraordinaire Axon in the booth, living out their musical dreams by creating, learning about music production, melodies, and sampling.

“The initial idea for this was to be made as a mirror, but the production costs went out of the roof, so I decided to just make a harp, the official Guinness logo currently, and it actually came out really perfect.”

Elton showcased customised rugs, explaining, “These rugs are both floor and wall art pieces. Inspiration for most of the rugs I make comes from the fact that I believe art is supposed to give a calming sensation to the owner or the observer.”

As night fell, the Guinness Bright House switched to night mode, and the stage came alive with dancers Asset Fame, Vievo, Dance Guru Cohen, Mayani & Virginia, and performances from Denesi, Akeine, and Kohen Jayce. After Kohen Jayce wrapped up his hit song Not Letting Go, Azawi took to the stage, electrifying the audience with her smash hits.

However, the true highlight of the night was Denim Cartel. Denim Cartel not only showcased a new line inspired by Guinness but also collaborated with a model living with vitiligo.

"We got to celebrate and highlight vitiligo, a condition that many Ugandans are not well-versed with. With June being Vitiligo Awareness Month, it was an important moment for us as Guinness to shine a light on that," said Roy Tumwizere, Guinness brand manager.

To add icing to the cake, Axon used Denim Cartel’s fashion showcase to unveil a new song a collaboration between him, Guinness, and some of the biggest artists, including Joshua Baraka and A Pass.

Hosted by media personality Icy Sonia, the night ended on a high with DJ Sesse taking to the decks and treating revelers to a bevy of incredible music.