Akimanzi's journey from art salesman to painter

Visual artist Timothy Akimanzi hails from a well-established artistic background. He is the fifth born in a family of six children with a shared interest in painting. Two of his brothers, Emmanuel Nkuranga and Innocent Nkurunziza are co-founders of the Inema Arts Center in Kacyiru, thus he needs no introduction on the Kigali contemporary art scene. Yet, to become the bona fide painter he is today, 21-year-old Akimanzi had to curve out his own path, literally. When his family moved from Uganda to Rwanda in 1998, Akimanzi was just four years old. It was then that he joined Shining Star Nursery School in Gahini and it is in this school that he was introduced to what would later turn out to be his life’s passion and professional calling; art. His father, a priest in the Anglican Church of Rwanda was the one that set the ball rolling. “He went for some studies in Kenya, and whenever he would come back, he would bring with him things like art and sketch books, crayons and books to read. He always encouraged us to practice painting using crayons, although back then, I did not know why,” Akimanzi recalls. Akimanzi earns his daily bread at the Inema Arts Centre in Kacyiru. His mother worked with the Mothers’ Union and also sung in the church choir. “She used to encourage us a lot in our art, especially my two bigger brothers but even then, she also didn’t know that we would turn out to be artists,” he explains. In 2003, on Christmas Eve, she passed on, an experience the artist describes as the most devastating thing that ever happened in their family. “Losing our mother when we were still young was the only major challenge we faced in the family.Before she died, our mother used to tell us to always strive to learn things from an early age,” she says After nursery school the familymoved to Kigali and he joined Remera Academy. During school vacations, he would visit his elder brothers at Ivuka Arts Studio where they were based. “Emma had a project called, Art With a Mission, where he would give chance to young aspiring artists from a poor background to learn to paint. When I saw the story of Art with a Mission, I started thinking that this is what I wanted to do,” he says. In 2012, his brothers formed Inema Arts Centre. Starting off as a salesman at Inema Arts Centre “We sat and talked, but I did not want to mention to him that I wanted to do art. I worked for about a week as a salesman. On the first day, I sold products for $300 (about Rwf230,000). Emma was very happy, and said I was a good salesman. By evening of that first day, I was feeling very inspired artistically. Working as a salesman inspired me to do art because I met people who had come all the way from the US just to see Inema Arts Center or to buy a piece. That showed me how much art is appreciated,” he says. Akimanzi (R) talks to an art enthusiast during an Art Bar session at Heaven restaurant in Kiyovu recently. (All photos by Moses Opobo) That evening he got inspired and created his first painting, an abstract piece. He did not tell anyone about his painting; instead, he just hung it up in the kids’ room. After two days, a client came and looked at it, and asked who had painted it and immediately commissioned him to work on three paintings. That was his turning point. After that, Akimanzi felt the need to inform his father and brothers that he would no longer need their help financially. In fact, he successfully paid for the last year of his high school. He describes himself as a self-taught artist. His brothers’ only advice for him was to maintain his style.Akimanzi’s inspiration comes from nature, especially flowers. “If you look at my work, it’s mostly flowers because they mean a lot to me. When you love someone, you give them flowers to show your love. When people die, to show respect and that you had love for them, you bring flowers for them in a wreath,” he says To be an artist, he says that one must show what’s in his heart and he must be himself, he must be unique, and he must be expressive. “You can do art without using a brush. You can use a spoon, knife, or fork –you have to be open always. Being an artist is just being smart. You always have to be ready like a soldier,” he concludes. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Akimanzi's journey from art salesman to painter