The past 10 days have been a rollercoaster as the just-concluded Ubumuntu Arts Festival, which marked 10-year anniversary, proved to be a worthwhile occasion where culture was celebrated and memories created. The 2024 edition has indeed proved how big and old the festival has grown and how far it has gone, transforming from its infancy into a significant cultural celebration. Held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Amphitheater, the festival closed on Sunday, July 28, with a vibrant celebration that reflected its evolution and the indelible impact it has left on both renowned artists and emerging talents worldwide. Curated and organized by Hope Azeda, founder of Mashirika Rwanda, the festival has consistently provided a platform for artists to improve on societal transformation through art and other related activities. ALSO READ: Ubumuntu Arts Festival celebrates 10 years of inspiring creativity The closing ceremony was shaped by a series of key performances by local and international artists. Rwanda was well represented on the big stage as renowned Sophia Nzayisenga played the traditional stringed musical instrument, 'Inanga,' while singing for her keen audience some of her songs like ‘Nyangezi’, ‘Inganji’, and others. Aside her music which left hundreds excited, theater also took centre stage as Belgian group Mokhallad Rasem played ‘Body Revolution,” which explores the impact of wars and violence on the human body. The performance focused on how the body reacts to violence and fear, portraying moments of war captives, horror voices, deep feelings, and other reactions. Another notable scene was ‘Desperate to Fight’, performed by Abeera Kuramba Mellisa from Uganda. In this piece, Abeera and her team depicted the life of a desperate woman named Martha. After rejecting a man with six children, she hoped to find a lifelong partner. However, every man she chose led to a tumultuous relationship filled with fights. The story follows Martha through multiple marriages, only to end in regret for not marrying the first man. Reflecting her experience from the 10th edition of Ubumuntu festival, Azeda compares organizing the annual festival to nurturing a child, describing the just-concluded edition as a chronology of book writing. “The 10 days was just a journey that I never saw coming. It was a journey whereby we let every day become like a chapter in the book and today’s day scripted the following day, the following the scripture the other day. Every day was like curating what the following would look like,” Azeda told The New Times. As she closed the festival, Azeda introduced two more impactful initiatives —“Memory Caravan” and “Radio Audio Plays” — which both aim to connect with the audiences far wider than just physical interaction. Initially witnessed on July 27 at Nyamata Genocide Memorial in Bugesera District, the Memory Caravan will further tour four main genocide memorials namely Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero, and Kigali Genocide Memorial. The caravan aims to connect communities with historical narratives of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, promoting healing and reconciliation through art. “We want people to understand that art can reshape the history of these Memorial sites. We shall be first touring these sites ahead of the festival. Art has the unique ability to touch hearts and minds,” Azeda explained. And, for the first time, Ubumuntu Arts festival has a radio segment dubbed ‘Urwandiko -Letters of Legacy’, airing on Radio Rwanda. Through the programme, Azeda seeks to extend the festival’s reach and impact, using the power of storytelling to address contemporary issues and historical events. The next edition of Ubumuntu Arts Festival will take place from July 14 to 20, under the theme “Overcome, Dare to Dream”.
