Meet Mpungirehe, the artist who doubles as a moto operator at night

Jean Baptiste Mpungirehe is a man who wears two hats. He is an established painter with Ivuka Arts centre during the day and a taxi-moto operator at night. After his day job in the evening, he revs up his taxi-moto which he operates until midnight, transporting people to their various destinations. When I caught up with him at Ivuka, based in Kacyiru, he was busy putting final touches on a semi-realism piece of painting that a client had ordered for. But after probing him further, he revealed to me that he also has a side job. Mpungirehe says: Those who depend solely on arts are finding it hard because it takes even months for you to sell a piece. But with my taxi-moto side job, I am able to take something home at the end of the day. Mpungirehe. The father of two says that his passion for arts started when he was still a young boy in Musanze before he moved to Kigali. Born in 1984, he adds that he liked sculpturing at a young age but when he moved to Kigali, he changed to painting. I did my painting apprenticeship under the close watch of Collins Sekajugo. He helped me to become a great painter that I am today,he adds. Sekajugo is credited with establishing contemporary art in Kigali and many artists in the country were groomed at his Ivuka Arts Center. Ive managed to stick with Collins at Ivuka because hes a person who knows his work and has a good relationship with artists who operate here. This is the cradle of arts in the country and its refreshing working from this place, he adds. But how does he manage to balance his work as a painter in the day and a taxi-moto rider in the night? I have passion for everything I do. Without passion, ambition is dead. And my ambition is to provide the best for my family. By the end of the day, everybody should have worked hard not only to build themselves but also to build the nation. He says that arts has helped him a lot, not only to build a house for his family but also to purchase the taxi-moto that he says fetches him on the average Rwf 10,000 per day. Not many people earn this money. But Im proud that I manage to take home this kind of money. It gives me motivation to continue working harder because at the end of the day, you have to take care of your family, says Mpungirehe. One of Mpungirehe’s beautiful paintings. (All photos by Joseph Oindo) He adds that his wife supports him in his endeavours, even if he wakes up in the morning and comes back past midnight, adding that she knows how the money hes making goes a long way to provide for his young family. He advises artists to venture into a second support project, saying that relying on arts alone is a risky venture and may not uplift them from poverty. Art in Rwanda has not reached the level where one can live on it alone as they do in other more advanced countries. Here, sometimes it can take two months before selling a piece. We have to think outside the box and have an alternative means of income, he advises. But at the same time, he has a positive message for Rwandan artists: Art is growing and well reach that level. You just have to work extra hard and create aesthetic pieces. The clients are there…if your piece is good, you will get clients. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Meet Mpungirehe, the artist who doubles as a moto operator at night