Ramadhani Mangula is one of the main organizers and artists for TingaTinga Arts Co-Operative in Tanzania. Born in 1977, he joined the cooperative when he was 20 years old with the goal of mastering this uniquely East African style. After years of study, he realized he needed to better understand English and other art forms to better engage with diverse guests at the Cooperative and share his love of TingaTinga with the world, so he enrolled in classes at the Institute Worldwide University (IWW).
Today, Mangula is an active contributor, advocate, and organizer for all things related to TingaTinga- including this partnership with Orangehare. In addition to being one of the first TingaTinga artist to be featured on Web3, he has also exhibited physical work in the Sounds of Busara Art Exhibition on the Zanzibar Islands and is a regular fixture at the National Museum in Tanzania.
The TingaTinga art movement traces its roots back to Edward Saidi TingaTinga, a visionary artist from Tanzania whose unpretentious paintings and positive outlook on life sparked an artistic resurgence that reshaped the creation of East African art for a global audience.
Having no artistic education and even less material to work with, Edward TingaTinga used whatever he could get his hands on, including low-cost materials such as Masonite squares, recycled ceramic fragments, and bicycle paint on wood. With seemingly simple sceneries and bold designs, Edward TingaTinga’s style reflected his lack of formal schooling- but it also reflected something much deeper: A burning passion for storytelling.
Contained within his playful landscapes of the African savannah and the animals and people that inhabited it, TingaTinga tapped into a deeper sense of the storytelling elements unique to the region- and instilled a sense of cultural pride and joy in all those who saw it. Before long, his colorful characters and “found canvas” creations gained a local following that allowed him to quit his job and pursue his craft as a full-time artist, and eventually start a movement.
This painting depicts a giraffe lying on the ground, symbolizing a grandmother introducing her grandchildren to other relatives who were separated due to a nomadic life. It portrays their search for shelter and better living places, as well as the importance of living with love and caring for one another, despite the distances that once kept them apart.
This painting shows a meeting of peacocks, owls, and long-tailed birds from the perspective of humans. The peacock tells his story about being loved by humans for his beautiful feathers. The owl explains that he is not liked by some people and asks his friends why this is. The long-tailed birds say that they are loved by humans because of their attractive, long tails. The peacocks and long-tailed birds promise to help their friend, the owl, with his problem of being disliked by some humans.
This painting shows a large giraffe who is the father, with his two children who have been lonely for a long time because their mother was eaten by a lion. The father decides to stay close to them and explains that their lives are always in danger, so he begs them not to pray for peace. He takes on the responsibility of raising his children himself.
This painting shows peacocks and birds with long tails meeting to announce their cooperation. They want support from all kinds of birds and emphasize that all birds are one. They believe there is no need for separation or fighting.
