Kabeya Ilunga

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 ...

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 committed voice to question and celebrate African identity. Exhibited in East Africa, notably at Makerere Art Gallery , Kiggundu Art Studio and Afropocene(the caspule), he also integrates social causes into his practice, supporting displaced children in Kivu. Based in Kampala, he aspires to include his work in contemporary global artistic dialogues.