Upcoming artist catches Ange Kagame’s eye with ‘Baby-Grandpa’ drawing

Kizito Nkundamahoro is an upcoming artist whose portrait of President Paul Kagame carrying his newly born granddaughter went viral early this week. The piece left many people astonished by the talent of the 20-year-old. It all started when Nkundamahoro shared his final product with a friend who took a photo of it and shared it on Instagram on Monday, September 28, tagging media personality Luckman Nzeyimana, who in turn tweeted the photo. The post received hundreds of likes and comments, among them one from the First Daughter, Ange Kagame, herself. She retweeted: “Love this. Who’s the artist?” Nkundamahoro was later tagged in the post and his number was shared. When The New Times visited the artist at his family home in Kimironko, we found him overjoyed by the fact that his talents had been recognised, yet at the same time nervous because he had never given any media interviews before. Well, everything has its first time. But Nkundamahoro was prepared, nonetheless. In a matter of a few minutes he was already sharing the inspiration behind the portrait. “It’s for the love I have for the First Family,” he said. “I thought this was the only way I could send my congratulations to the First Family upon welcoming a granddaughter and to Ange on becoming a mother” “These are heroes of our nation, since Patriotism Day (October 1) was fast approaching, I thought the portrait getting done in the same period would make more sense,” he added. Kizito Nkundamahoro is the young artist behind the portrait of President Kagame and his granddaughter‭. ‬He is seen speaking to‭ ‬The New Times‭ ‬about his artwork at his parent’s home in Kimironko‭, ‬on October 1‭.‬‭ ‬Photo‭: ‬Olivier Mugwiza‭.‬ However, he didn’t expect a lot of public reactions because this was a portrait that only a few close friends knew about, or so he thought. The realism artist took about a week and a half to complete the portrait, he said. Asked about the instruments he used, he said they included coloured pencils, a ruler, a piece of paper, and a pencil. Although he started drawing at a young age, Nkundamahoro started art as a profession in 2019 when he sold his portraits between Rwf10, 000 and Rwf20, 000. Today, his pieces go for anywhere between Rwf30, 000 and Rwf60,000 each. “My business is still small, which is why I am still working from home. I usually get my clients through social media or through word of mouth,” he said. He didn’t learn the kind of art that he is doing but pursued a short course about the idea of art in general, in 2019, at Kigali International Art College. There, he particularly learnt about painting and mixing colours. Nkundamahoro is a graduate of Nyanza Technical School where he did Electronics and Telecommunication. He says he’s looking forward to join university where he hopes to do digital multimedia. His message to fellow youth is to never underestimate their talents because this is an era where any skill can earn you an opportunity, give you connections and put food on the table. The youngster said he’s looking for support in form of materials and connections to help grow his business.

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Upcoming artist catches Ange Kagame’s eye with ‘Baby-Grandpa’ drawing