Title : Crown of continuity Medium : charcoal and acrylics on paper(350gsm) Year :2025 Size : 120x 89cm Hand Signed by the artist In Crown of Continuity, the African woman is both guardian and sovereign of memory. Her Ovimbundu- inspired hairstyle rises as a symbolic crown, representing dignity, lineage, and the silent language of belonging. This portrait honors the unbroken thread connecting African women across generations, carrying gestures, symbols, and beauty practices that keep their soul alive. She embodies all African and Afro-descendant women, symbolizing resilience, pride, and the sacred responsibility of transmission. Crown of Continuity is a homage to the lineage of African femininity, where existence itself is an act of resistance and light. Kabeya Ilunga (born in 2003 in Goma, DR Congo) is a self-taught artist whose work blends hyperrealism and Afro-descendant heritage. Marked by a past of conflict and exile, he returned to art in 2023 from a refugee camp in Uganda. This return gave rise to afrocentrik , a series of fifteen portraits exploring Black pride, traditions, and African memory. His powerful compositions, laden with symbolism, tell intimate stories and collective identity through gazes, scarification, and textile patterns. Kabeya combines technical finesse and a committed voice to question and celebrate African identity. Exhibited in East Africa, notably at Makerere Art Gallery, Kiggundu Art Studio, and Afropocene (The Capsule), he also integrates social causes into his practice. In 2025, Kabeya participated in the global initiative Young Leaders for Arts and Health, organized by ylah.org in partnership with the Global Art in Medicine Fellowship and the Commonwealth Leadership Institute (Kampala Summit), which connected young people across major cities worldwide around the intersections of art, health, and leadership. In October 2025, he will exhibit at the Global Village Berlin with Bella Art Gallery, expanding his artistic presence onto the international stage. Currently based in Kampala, he aspires to include his work in contemporary global artistic dialogues. A R T I S T I C S T A T E M E N T I define my practice as Afrocentric, rooted in the richness, beauty, and sacredness of African cultures. Born and raised in Goma, a city shaped by the intersection of many traditions, I developed a keen awareness of identity, beauty, and collective memory. My art places the African figure at the center, not as an object of representation, but as a vehicle of power, grace, and cultural depth. Since 2023, after a transformative period at the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, my work has evolved into a visual manifesto. Living among Sudanese, Somali, Ethiopian, and Ugandan communities, I have witnessed firsthand the power of oral narratives, the dignity of rituals, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. These experiences now inform my portraits, which redefine and celebrate the greatness of African peoples. My Afrocentrik series exemplifies this approach: fifteen portraits that blend hyperrealism, ancestral symbols, ritual ornaments, and geometric abstraction. Each face I draw is not a mere likeness: it is an act of restoration, an archive of pride, and a mirror of spiritual endurance. Through charcoal, graphite, pastels, acrylic, and oil, I highlight the dignity of scars, the wisdom of the gaze, the beauty of the skin, and the soul of silence. Blending technique and narrative, I aim to create a space where African beauty is not exoticized but venerated, where each portrait becomes a living testimony affirming identity, exalting memory, and transmitting a legacy. My work aims not only to honor the past but also to place African stories at the heart of contemporary art, where they belong. Education & Training 2013- today : Self-taught, 12 years of drawing and painting practice 2024-2025 : Artistic Development ,Kiggundu Art Studio, Kampala, Uganda 2022 – Diploma in Literature, Goma, DRC 2013 - Artistic initiation UJADP ERICA ,Goma, DRC Gallery Representation SINCE 2024 – Bella art gallery, Berlin , GERMANY Expression | Group exhibition Markerere university art gallery march 2025 Blossom | Group exhibition Njabala foundation march 2025 Metamorphosis | Duo exhibition January 2025 Kiggundu art studio | UG Group exhibition Droop canvas february 2025 Group exhibition | The capsule Yujo Izakaya | UG Young leaders for arts and health Kampala Summit | by ylah org & art in Medecine fellowship august 2025 Kampala Summit Exhibitions Resilience in exile group show october 2025 Bella art gallery, Berlin, Germany Upcoming Exhibitions Kizamani kisasa group show September 2025 Nafasi space, Dar es salam Tanzania Publications & Press 2025 – Young artists showcase growth at metamorphosis exhibition | Nile post Uganda March 2025 - Un pont entre les cultures In collaboration with Oguiri guiri | Gala Magazine,n1656, France Collaborations March 2025 - Afro symbolysm collection in cultures In collaboration with Oguiri guiri by africa pop culture&art | Oguiri guiri ,FRANCE IMPORTANT NOTICE : Due to the volume of packages, transport companies require us to inspect the delivery both externally and internally by taking photos. 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