Alienation is an ongoing, multidisciplinary research project that unfolds across four distinct chapters, each interrogating the colonial foundations of Kampala, Uganda’s economic heart, and their lasting impact on identity, belonging, and urban life. Through a blend of artistic mediums, the project invites audiences on a journey of self-discovery, questioning the concept of home in a city shaped by a colonial past that was never designed for its inhabitants.

Alienation I: Dance Film

A cinematic exploration of movement and memory, premiered at the Jomba Contemporary Dance Experience in South Africa 2021. This chapter uses dance to evoke the emotional and physical disconnection between Kampala’s residents and their urban environment.

Alienation II: Installation and Exhibition

First showcased at Kunstenfestival Watou in Poperinge, Belgium, this immersive installation translates Kampala’s colonial architecture and its social implications into a visual and sensory experience.

Alienation III: Performance

Premiered March 2025 at K3/Kampnagel in Hamburg, this live performance takes audiences on a visceral journey through Kampala’s streets, exploring themes of self-discovery, home, and belonging against the backdrop of the city’s colonial legacy.

Alienation IV: Structure is Magic (In Progress)

The culminating chapter will take the form of a book, weaving together images and text to reflect on the project’s findings and offer a lasting archive of its insights.

Kampala: A City Built on Division

With over 4.4 million inhabitants, Kampala is Uganda’s vibrant economic hub. Yet, its urban fabric bears the scars of colonial planning. In 1945, German urban planner Ernst May, commissioned under British rule, designed the city drawing on the garden city model, embedding racial and social segregation into its structure. Neighborhoods were divided by wealth and, often, by race, creating a cityscape that alienated its inhabitants from their own environment. Alienation examines how these colonial foundations continue to shape contemporary Kampala, raising a critical question: How can a city and its people thrive when their foundation was neither built nor intended for them?

A Personal and Collective Inquiry

For artist and researcher Ssempijja, Kampala was once a familiar home, a world he knew intimately as a child. As he grew older, the city’s contradictions became undeniable. Street names felt foreign, neighborhoods reflected economic and racial divides, and the weight of colonial history loomed large. The more questions Ssempijja asked, the less connected he felt. Alienation channels this personal disconnection into a broader investigation, asking: What does it mean to belong in a city that does not reflect its people? How does structural design shape identity and resilience?

Through dance, installation, performance, and text, the project reflects on self-discovery through the lens of colonialism and decolonization. It challenges taken-for-granted paths, inviting audiences to reconsider the relationship between urban spaces and the people who inhabit them.

This project was realized through a series of research residencies and invaluable support from esteemed institutions across the globe: K3 Center for Choreography | Tanzplan Hamburg and PACT Zollverein in Essen, Germany; the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in South Africa; Moving Across the Thresholds in Berlin; and Kunstenfestival Watou in Poperinge, Belgium.