Meet Rukundo, the artist who visualises life through art

Baptiste Rukundo has been an art lover since childhood. He started practicing professional visual art in 2011 after graduating from Nyundo School of Art and Music. The artist finds his inspiration in the challenges of everyday life. The beginning was tough. Rukundo could not find the means to buy himself the necessary materials to paint, and not all materials are available locally. But times have since changed. Since he became a member of Ivuka Arts, it has been easier for him to sell his paintings, and thus earn a well deserved income to keep on doing what he is passionate about. Rukundos fellow contemporary artists at work at the Kacyiru-based Ivuka Arts. Most of his clients are tourists and expatriates. He says, locally, people are yet to fully appreciate the value of contemporary art. That, he believes, remains the main challenge alongside the financial aspect. “If you go into this field for money, you will quickly give up. Working as a contemporary artist requires you to be perseverant, it’s all about passion, actually,” says Rukundo. In 2013, he started getting into public art since he liked the idea of bringing the arts closer to a wider public. “Public art helps me show my talent to people. Before, my paintings would just remain at home or here, at the art gallery that not many people visit,” he reveals. Rukundo enters the art gallery at Ivuka Arts. Rukundo believes that street art plays an important role in sharing messages that Rwandans need to hear. For example, he cited the campaign to raise awareness against the stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. For these reasons, he joined Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga, a Kigali-based public art social enterprise. With fellow artists, they travel the country painting walls, including traditional aspects of local culture to give a unique Rwandan feel to the work. “Every time there is a cultural festival of some sort abroad, it is very often the traditional dance troupes who take part in them. But culture shouldn’t be limited to dance. I believe that artists can also represent Rwanda. Art is just as much about culture as it is about dance.” Ivuka Arts Studio is home to many Rwandan contemporary artists. Rukundo dreams big. He wants to be a famous artist one day whose art will be remembered not only for its beauty, but also for the awareness it raised and the positive changes it brought along the way. “I invite you to visit our art galleries and see for yourself how we, Rwandan artists, also have talent,” says Rukundo. “I invite you to come, appreciate the beauty of our work and the quality of the messages that we share”. Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga public art projects seek to bring about social change.

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Meet Rukundo, the artist who visualises life through art