Kwitonda rose from the ashes and is now painting pictures of hope

It’s said that “in the secular view, suffering is never seen as a meaningful part of life but only as an interruption.” This quote aptly describes one Olivier Kwitonda, a youthful painter at Yego Arts Center in Nyarutarama who says that the harsh challenges he has faced throughout his life only succeeded in emboldening him to seek and fulfill his dreams. Kwitonda says that his mother died when he was in senior two and that rendered him and his two brothers ‘total’ orphans. “I had a harrowing childhood experience of coming from a dysfunctional family. My dad never cared for us since he had two wives and other children from his second set of family,” he informs me when I went to interview him at Yego. However, this dark childhood experience propelled him to discover his bright talent when he was still quite young. “Drawing figures became to me some sort of therapy because when I finished drawing a piece and saw how beautiful it was, I felt light in my spirit.” One of Kwitondas paintings. (Courtesy) He continues that even as he attended his school at Groupe Scolarie Sainte Bernadette de Save, he could only manage to be in class during morning lessons. “In the afternoon, I would pick my brush and paints and search for prospective clients whom I would convince to paint their boutiques and signboards. Life was actually hard.” But why did he have to go through all these hassles at that young age in his life? Yes, the parents weren’t there anymore, and now from his work as an itinerant painter, he would manage not only to put food on the table for him and his brothers, but also pay for the ramshackle house they were living in. “I didn’t want to beg for money from anybody. But when I managed to convince a client to paint a signpost, which I charged Rwf 3,000, or his boutique, that would be enough to buy some measly foodstuff to last us the whole week.” As a side hassle during this miserable period, he would also visit construction sites to look for a hand job that would supplement his “income” as a budding artist. Kwitonda did manage to reach Senior Six where he majored in literature but says he didn’t get opportunity to join university, which was also one of his ambitions. Kwitonda working at one of his pieces at Yego Arts Center, Nyarutarama. (Courtesy) His hard scrabble life followed similar trajectory after High School. But this time, he says that he grew more ambitious and found manual work at the UN office where he was being paid a paltry salary of Rwf 40,000 per month.” But the bug of painting passion had bitten him, and inflicted in him a burning ambition. He used part of this pay to save so that one day, he would use the savings to develop his artistic talent. After working for two years, Kwitonda was convinced that it was now the best moment to move on to better cuisines. But first, he advertised his desire to do arts on his Facebook account and two artists from Urumuri Arts Group in Nyamirambo promptly responded to this and invited him to do his apprenticeship under them. And of course “I paid for this for one month with the money I had saved.” He adds. He did this for six months and he says this was also the first time he learned about acrylic painting on canvas. Having now got enough experience, he shifted base to his house where he used to paint from there, though he clarifies that at that time, being an unknown artist, what he used to get was just meager resources to help him continue supporting his brothers. However, he began visiting Ivuka Arts Center located in Kacyiru in 2008, from where he met Tony Cyizanye, who he struck an immediate telepathic friendship with because of their shared deep passion for arts. When Tony left Ivuka to open his own arts studio, Yego in 2013, he says that it was just natural that he moves with him so that they could work together at the new art center based in Nyarutarama. This development opened more opportunities to him because within a short period of time, Yego developed into one of the leading arts center in the country, and several art enthusiasts could come and purchase his pieces. Kwitonda further says that he has deep respect for art because it really helped him focus on life during his difficult moments. “Art has therapeutic power to heal a wounded soul. When I started seriously engaging into it, I would do some realism pieces that depicted life as it was, and not as people thought it should be.” This, he tells me, was influenced by the way he saw his mother suffering to take care of them even though the family was going through tormenting moments where getting something to put in the stomach involved daily struggle for survival. And about his mother’s profound influence on his perception of life, he says that mothers are the pillars of society and several of his art pieces celebrate their dedicated efforts in ensuring that the family doesn’t suffer so much even when they’re going through hopeless indigence. Kwitonda working on a different piece of art. (Courtesy) Now Kwitonda says that he wants to engage in a new project: helping talented street kids develop their skills and become useful members of society. “A street kid one day begged me to give him Rwf 700 because his mother had warned him that if he didn’t manage to beg for this money, they would stay hungry. Instead, I told him to visit me at the studio and this kid is now promising to be a great artist who’ll in future manage to fend for himself,” he says with some tinge of pride lighting up his face. To do more for other street kids, he says that he’s organising his exhibition sometime soon, and he will use the proceeds from the exhibition to launch his ambitious project of helping unfortunate kids. Though he says that he wouldn’t mind some little support for this project, it’s something that he’s devoted his heart into, and clarifies that even if the support is not forthcoming, he has developed a will to see it through by himself. “The life I experienced growing up has taught me about the value of love and compassion for others, and I believe that any talented street kid shouldn’t be roaming the streets on sometimes empty stomach begging for money and food. They must be helped.” He says enthusiastically. Saying that to him, art is life, and now doing abstract, semi-abstract and realism art, Kwitonda’s drawings capture the magic of life. A startling piece proudly gracing the exhibition hall at Yego showcases the different phases of Rwanda, from the tragic period during the genocide when people had to flee, leaving their prized cows and property behind to escape the pogrom, to new Rwanda where children are now getting education, and it’s successful health system that has amazed many people all over the world. “The painting was inspired by the image of my dad when he was paralysed in a hospital bed because the system at that time didn’t have progressive healthcare programs. But look what an amazing story we have now, the transformation that has made the people to be proud of their country!” The piece, aptly named “Past and Present” is an apt symbol of how Rwanda remarkably emerged from its darkest period to build institutions that now stand for the country’s remarkable bastion of progress. “Even as we try to remember and recreate our country’s history through artistic expressions, we should also through this medium preserve our deep cultural heritage,” he adds. He observes that the exponential growth of art in Rwanda over the last period of years is just a vestige of how it has developed in other sectors. However, he laments that even though the youth are now coming out to follow their dreams and passions, their parents are still reticent that there are other fields which their young ones shouldn’t venture into because they don’t provide immediate gratification and a show of success in life. “Many young artists are now disabusing this atavistic line of thinking through making progress through their passions, and parents should now equally encourage their children to follow their own dreams. The world has changed significantly,” he concludes.

Lifestyle

Kwitonda rose from the ashes and is now painting pictures of hope