Nathan Mpangala
Nathan Mpangala, born December 1970 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, is a cartoonist based at Nafasi Art Space. He is a self-taught artist with work that explores themes based on current issues faced by Tanzanians. His work also generally features exaggerated figures that offer social commentary.
He attended a Fine Art Course at Kinondoni Young Artist in Dar-es-Salaam in 1990, as well as various other arts courses such as those organised by UNICEF and UNESCO in Tanzania as well as a Children’s Book Writing, Editing and Illustrating course at MRCU in Kenya. He also has training focusing on social change and awareness, such as those organised by the Tanzania Aids Project (Dodoma, Tanzania), Lawyers Environmental Action Team (Bagamoyo, Tanzania), MISA Tanzania, PACT Tanzania and various other organisations. He has also had a number of residencies, in particular the 2009 TingaTinga Animation residency in Nairobi, Kenya, which was organised by the UK based Tiger Aspect Production and Kenyan group, Homeboyz.
He is currently the chairperson of the Nathan Mpangala Foundation (NMF) as well as the founder and coordinator of a voluntary project called Wafanye Watabasamu. He has worked for a significant number of publications since the 1990s – UHURU, Motomoto, Mwananchi, the Express and many more – and is currently a weekly cartoonist for the Daily News on ITV as well as Tanzania Public Procurement Journal.
