At a tender age, the love and passion for cartoons in newspapers drove Assoumani Ndarama to dream of one day becoming an editorial cartoonist.

Today, the 35-year-old is a visual artist and the co-founder of Mountain Creative Ltd, a website selling electronic books, arts, crafts, photos and greeting cards.

With the cartoon productions that he has created so far, the father of three is living his childhood dream having made numerous popular cartoons that featured in many local media outlets.

He spoke to Weekender about his journey in editorial animations, his experience so far and what the future holds for his career.

Tell us about your journey in sketching

I started drawing when I was five in 1990. The thing that pushed me was newspapers and comics. I have always loved reading since my childhood. So it made me start imitating cartoons, including my favourite cartoon newspapers at the time like The Paris Match and Jeune Afrique.

When we relocated to Kigali in 1995, I came to see other magazines including Ingabo Magazine, Imvaho Nshya, and others. I felt I would be a great artist in these magazines.

Some of his illustrations.  Photos: Courtesy

My love for reading and drawing inspired me to study fine art at Ecole d’Arts de Nyundo in Rubavu.

After I graduated in 2005, I worked at different magazines like Ingabo, a magazine for the Ministry of Defense. I had the greatest experience of my life there, it was not only a magazine because as a young person I also learned a lot as a professional.

I also did editorial cartoons for Imvaho Nshya and Igihe, becoming the latter’s first cartoonist at the time.

The CV I have so far in editorial cartooning is a statement that my childhood dream came true.

What are your inspirations behind your cartoons?

My inspirations come from political content, analysis, and opinion. I don’t know why I find it so easy to draw about very popular people.

What is the art behind cartoons?

I use satirical cartoons to show humour, irony, and exaggeration to expose my idea.

What do you think are people’s perceptions about your cartoons?

There is still a long journey for people to properly perceive cartoons. There are some who understand cartoons well while others don’t, I have had negative reviews. In my view, comics are still undervalued in our culture. 

Which of your cartoons attracted public attention most?

It’s not easy to identify this or that because I have a lot of cartoons that have ‘made noise’, mainly on Covid-19 related trends etc.

But, in general, cartoons related to entertainment in Rwanda are the most popular.

Share with us how cartoonists make money. Can one make a living from this?

The best way to make money as a cartoonist is to become a freelance cartoonist for various magazines and businesses.

In Rwanda, it is not easy for a professional cartoonist to earn a lot of money because there are no permanent jobs, especially for editorial cartoons but you can earn a decent income from doing illustrations for children’s books.

How do you see the future of this art in Rwanda?

I hope someday things will change because there is a political will to support arts.

Last year, for instance, I was among the beneficiaries of the Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) recovery fund.

Through the fund from the Ministry of Youth and Culture and Imbuto Foundation, I was able to implement my project of training various artists on cartooning and I am really thankful for that. This shows me that the future is bright.

For that reason, I will also be launching the first ever Comic Art Festival this year.