Acaye Kerunen

Apoi

Sun, Apr 19, 2026–Sun, Sep 6, 2026

Haus Lange

Acaye Kerunen (born in Kampala, Uganda) works across disciplines in the visual and performing arts, in the fields of film, sound, and poetry, and is also active as a curator. She is one of the most important voices in East Africa and is representing Uganda for the third time this year at the Venice Biennale. The particular power of her sculptural and installation works stems from the combination of natural materials, craftsmanship, and a collaborative approach to art. Kerunen creates her works from raffia, banana fiber, palm leaves, and bark cloth—materials sourced from plants in the region east of Kampala and traditionally used in basketry. She collaborates with women's communities in Uganda who continue the craft and produce everyday items such as baskets, mats, fabrics, and ribbons. Kerunen continues craft techniques such as knotting, braiding, sewing, knotting, and weaving as artistic praxis and incorporates the women's objects into it. Art and craft merge inseparably in her work. Kerunen's sculptures and installations give form to knowledge of ecological and social as well as colonial contexts as inscribed in Uganda’s history. At the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, the artist is featured in her first solo museum exhibition, marking her debut in Germany. At Haus Lange, Kerunen combines her previous work with new pieces created especially for Krefeld. Sculptural works, participatory installations, a film, and other works provide insight into the complex and sensual oeuvre of this extraordinary artist.

Curator: Sylvia Martin

HLHE Dialog Series - What Comes After Art:
Acaye Kerunen and Bernhard Fuchs come from very different cultural backgrounds and artistic traditions, yet both share a deep connection to their places of origin — sources of inspiration that continue to shape their artistic visions. In both artists’ work, notions of preservation, appreciation, continuity, and the longing for repair form a shared conceptual framework.
Since 2017, the HL HE Dialog series has fostered encounters between historical and contemporary positions in art, design, and architecture within the neighboring Mies van der Rohe villas. Each edition reflects anew on the legacy of modernism, bringing past and present into dynamic conversation.