Edouard Bamporiki, State Minister in charge of Culture in the Ministry of Youth, has tasked graduates of the first cohort of  ArtRwanda-Ubuhanzi  to work towards making profit from their different talents.

This, he said, is backed by the new policy that the ministry is polishing that will see players in the creative industry be able not only to showcase their art but also make a profitable living out of it.

He made the remarks during the graduation commencement of the first cohort that consisted of 68 artistes who successfully completed a one-year incubation programme of the ArtRwanda –Ubuhanzi Project, on April 1.

The  ArtRwanda-Ubuhanzi  is a programme started by Imbuto Foundation and partners which aims at identifying and supporting young and talented Rwandans within the creative arts industry for job creation.

The project dubbed "Nurture Your Talent”, consists of a televised nationwide search and mentorship programme for creative youth in six categories namely; Music and Dance, Fashion, Acting and Drama, Photography and Cinematography, Literature, and Plastic Arts.

The search kicked off on November 2018, with roadshows conducted across all provinces where over 2400 youths auditioned, the 587 best artists in the six categories were selected at provincial level, and from this pool, the top 68 were selected as best artists at the national level and headed off to the boot camp.

The incubation process is aimed at talent development and mentorship, employment generation and artworks commercialization, creation and development of sustainable, globally competitive artists that contribute to the accelerated growth of the Rwandan economy.

While they were in the boot camp, each of the six categories was requested to develop and pitch a sustainable art business project.

Among these six projects, three top business projects were selected and awarded seed funding of Rwf10 million each for their project implementation.

Also, within each category, one artist was selected as a top prize winner of Rwf1 million.

Geraldine Umutesi, Deputy Director-General of Imbuto Foundation, also charged the graduates to think about the legacy they are living behind as the first cohort for others that will follow.

"As you continue to nurture your talents and expand your activities, stand firm on principles and values that you were taught in your upcoming journey to achieve more than you did in the past, for yourselves, your families, and the country at large,” she told them.

Rosemary Mbabazi, Minister of Youth, congratulated them for the ‘excellent’ work they put in their talents.

"We want you to have art-with-purpose conduct, in collaboration with involved sectors, we want to have a unique creative industry that is linked to Rwandan values which will make you competitive on international markets,” she said.

Innocent Kagabo has been a painter for four years and it was only a hobby until he went through the incubation process that taught him the business side of it, and now his talent is able to pay for all his basic needs.

"We were taught how to properly invest and improve on our talents so that it can be profitable and also the importance of branding our uniqueness…going forward I will be working on expanding my market,” he said.

Nadine Kanyana, a fashion designer and founder of KanyanaWorld, said that from the training she received, she is now able to employ five women who derive their source of income from her fashion house.

Her target market, she said, are people between the age of 20 and 35 for her ready-to-wear clothes.

The graduation ceremony was marked with different stands where the artists showcased their works and in attendance were various artists in the industry.