Dressed in 'Umushanana' a panel made of Justin Shema, Jemima Kakizi, Joshua Mutsinzi and Ineza Flora introduced a short fiction video representing Rwanda's traditioanal attire in a catching yet inspiring video that a big number of people that turned up enjoyed watching. Held at Goethe-Institut in Kiyovu on November 24, the exhibition was set to celebrate the 'Umushanana', Rwanda's traditional clothing. The short fiction story created by Joshua Mutsinzi, film maker and founder of The Folks Africa was shot from different places in Rwanda to capture the beauty of Rwanda. During the event, different pictures by models Justin Shema and Flora Ineza were showcased. Talking to The New Times he said that the purpose for this presentation was to promote the 'Umushanana' attire and inspire Rwandans to wear it more oftenly not just during weddings. I wanted to do a fiction video that can interest people to know more about our culture.i wanted it to talk about our culture but mostly on our 'Umushanana' attire to represent Rwandans as our own style and so that it can be known by other people who are not Rwandans, said Mutsinzi. This day was like a wedding, says Shema, and I was excited that I got to be here to witness the exhibition and be part of it. More importantly the fact that we were all here for the culture makes it rewarding and for that i am thankful. I want to thank the big number of people who antended the exhibition and shared their ideas on the fiction video. This left me with a lesson to always think of doing something that helps the society, now I know that I can organise even more cultural based exhibitions and lastly to think of what to do next in promoting 'Umushanana' attire, he added. The exhibition highlights the role of Rwandan women play in preserving the 'Umushanana' attire, since it is worn by women mostly. We had an insightful conversation with the audience, asking ourselves why men don't wear the traditional attire during the wedding ceremony (gusaaba) as women do? Women embrace the traditional attire and we wanted to know if it's a question of mindset or if they are not comfortable and if it maybe refashioned. We came to a conclusion that it should not be refashioned to keep its originality and rather embrace it and be proud of our traditional attire, says Jemima Kakizi, Visual artist and curator. Hannah Henrici from Goethe-Instutit, said that it was amazing to see that many people were interested in the topic and that it is great to support new artistes. The topic on how to preserve culture and heritage was also interesting as well as the role played by women in that. We work under the culture and creative industry by collaborating with different artistes from different fields, among whom are visual artistes, photographers and movie producers among others, said Henrici. Gloria Mpuhwe Shima, who attended the exhibition said that she was inspired by the idea of promoting 'Umushanana'. It is good to remind people of their culture and I believe if our traditional attire is innovated abit and more creative in many ways it will go miles, a good example is the 'Igitenge' attire that has gone beyond, she said.
