My name is Dolph Kayitankore. I am 23 years old, and I’m a painter at Ivuka Arts Center in Kacyiru. My art is mostly centered on abstract paintings and semi-realism.

I was born in Kigali but lived in Butare for four years during my childhood.

Art is my talent. By the age of seven, I was already making toy cars and bicycles using wire. Even in school, from primary to secondary, I continued exploring my artistic talent.

After two years at Ecole Primaire de Butare, I came to Kigali and joined EPAK (Ecole Primaire Apostolica Kimihurura). At EPAK I did a lot of art works for the school, including geographical maps.

When I joined Secondary School (ESAPAG, in Gitwe, Southern Province), I continued doing art but I mostly concentrated on drawing cartoons.

In S4 I started painting on canvass and I continued with it until S6.

After S6 I started painting from home, and I did this for seven months, after which I went to Ivuka Arts to improve my painting skills.

The first six months were tough because I didn’t have the basic raw materials for painting like paint, canvass and brushes. I used whatever I could land my hands on. Sometimes I would improvise local materials or share the little that my fellow artists had. After six months, Collins Sekajugo, the boss at Ivuka was impressed with my art works so he started giving me the basic materials I needed –acrylic paint, brushes, and canvass.

This is when the artist in me poured out and I realized that art is my calling.

After another six months, I started selling my art pieces at Ivuka until today.

We share the money from each piece that I sell. I take 70 percent while they take 30 percent.

The most expensive piece I’ve sold was at $500. It was a depiction of a live music scene on canvass.

Challenges

The biggest problem we face is that of start-up capital. You need about Rwf10 million to open an art gallery (buy materials, furniture, isles, and to rent premises).

Most of our clients are white because they tend to appreciate the value of our art more than many Rwandans.

But it’s also true that the average Rwandan can’t afford the prices of most art pieces in art galleries.

I’ve done live painting at UTC in 2012, and at the Democracy Exhibition at the US Embassy in 2014.

At Ivuka

I’ve learnt to be versatile in my art, now I can comfortably rotate between contemporary, African and street art. I have two murals about AIDS, one in Musanze and another in Kayonza, all sponsored by the Rwanda Biomedical Center and UNESCO.

Art is good. When you use the talent well you can get money from it.

My plans are to travel to other countries to compare their art with ours, and to study art professionally. I also want to learn photography and animation. In future when I get the money, I hope to have my own art gallery and an art school.

As told to Moses Opobo.