UBURANGA ARTS STUDIO
We believe that arts heal people physically, mentally, emotionally!!
ABOUT UBURANGA ARTS STUDIO
Uburanga is a Kinyarwanda term that translates in English to beautiful.
Throughout the past two decades, Rwanda has faced many developmental challenges due to the genocide that plagued the country in the 1990s. It is this fact that inspired visual artists of Uburanga Arts Studio to commit their lives to developing and inspiring the artistic and cultural communities of Rwanda.
Until recently, Rwanda’s art industry has suffered greatly. Art and culture have rarely been the focus of development, and they are often overlooked by those looking to invest in Rwanda’s future. It is the dream of the artists at Uburanga to revolutionize the country’s art scene so that Rwandan art and culture can be appreciated locally and throughout the world.
Uburanga Arts Studio was founded in March 2010 by Bakunzi Jean Bosco, and has quickly become a center for the visual arts in Rwanda. At the studio, artists are given access to art books and are given a safe and quiet space for their talent and inspirations to grow. In order to ensure the success of Rwandan art, artists are also taught the tools they need to promote their work and they are given a space to hang their creations.
At Uburanga Arts Studio, the artists have seen first-hand the positive impact that art can have in one’s life. For example, Bakunzi Jean Bosco, a survivor of the 1994 genocide, used art to reconcile with the past after losing his parents. As a young boy, he was able to forge friendships with other children who were also living at the orphanage, Gisimba Memorial Centre (GMC), in the 1990s. It was during this period that he began his lifelong commitment to help heal others by teaching them skills that could give them an artistic outlet for their stresses. Most importantly though, he learned that art is the ideal way to develop a country peacefully while reducing poverty, promoting gender equality, saving the environment, and having a positive impact on the rest of the world. It is for this reason that Uburanga Arts Studio, as an organization, will forever be committed to bettering Rwanda’s art industry.
Currently at the studio, there are eleven artists from different backgrounds who work together to make the studio a success. The artists have all been brought together with the same belief: that art has the power to heal people, and the world, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
UBURANGA ARTS STUDIO AND THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Uburanga Arts Studio is committed to furthering the sustainable economic, social, environmental, and cultural development of Rwanda.
By helping to develop Rwanda’s art industry, we believe it is possible to:
• Eradicate poverty through job creation and job training in the art industry. At Uburanga Arts Studio, we focus on teaching artistic and craft-making skills to orphans and vulnerable children so that they may have a chance at life. We also share workshop, exhibition, and promotional opportunities with the budding and established artists of Rwanda;
• Promote gender equality and empower women by existing as a non-discriminatory studio. Our doors are open to anyone who demonstrates a commitment to their own artistic development, as well as Rwanda’s;
• Ensure environmental sustainability by promoting the use of recycled materials in our works and reusing products such as paper, canvas, and frames as much as possible. Our artists often focus on depicting natural scenes in their pieces so as to share with the world their passion for our fragile natural environment; and develop a global partnership for development. At our studio, we strive for artistic and cultural development through cooperation with other countries. The success of Uburanga Arts Studio is dependent on the kindness and generosity of our visitors who have opportunities to share their ideas with us, tell others about their experiences at our studio, donate time, supplies, and funds, and learn from our stories, as we will also learn from theirs.
OUR COMMUNITY PROJECT
As we all come from different backgrounds, we understand the importance of involving children and youth in art and art therapy. Art serves as an outlet for individuals who have suffered trauma and stress.
At orphanage centers, such as Gisimba Memorial Center(GMC) in Kigali, Rwanda, children are left with too much idle time, allowing them to participate in unproductive activities. With this in mind, Bakunzi Jean Bosco has volunteered his time and resources at GMC since 2008. The children and youth are taught how to draw and paint, how to make paper beads, how to design beautiful jewelry pieces, how to design greeting cards and postcards with traditional Rwandan scenes.
These activities allow the children and youth at GMC to express themselves creatively, to work productively individually and in groups, to develop necessary life and career skills, and to have hope for the future.
Uburanga Arts Studio also has a community development project which welcomes orphans and vulnerable children from the Kimihurura neighbourhood surrounding the studio. Within the inspiring environment of the studio grounds, free lessons are offered by artists of Uburanga to over 25 of these children girls and boys, two times a week. Through art lessons, children are encouraged to work creatively individually and in groups in order to create beautiful greeting cards and other crafts. As these children come from disadvantaged families, all proceeds from the sales of these cards and arts and crafts goes directly to supporting the children’s school fees, health care costs, and nutritional requirements.
Uburanga Arts Studio also organizes events that help the children discover and develop their talents through sports and culture. This also furthers healing and reconciliation in our community.
With Youth Football For Peace uburanga arts Studio has been able to bring together more than 300 children under 12 years old every year since 2011, so they can compete peacefully as well as show they talents in football. learn more about the project on http://youthfootballforpeace.blogspot.ca/
OUR VISION
The artists at Uburanga Arts Studio have a dream to continue building our project so that we may be able to increase the number of opportunities available to artists in Rwanda. We hope to also become a base for artists of other media such as photographers, fashion designers, filmmakers, and writers and poets. This will also help us to interest more youth so that we may continue working them, as they are the future of our nation.
Uburanga Arts Studio is known as one of Rwanda’s leading art centers. We hope this will continue, in order to benefit the future of the Rwandan art scene and the upcoming artists who will always get inspiration from its existence. Our dream is that our arts studio will one day be a permanent base for contemporary art in Rwanda.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information on our project and initiatives, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Uburanga Arts Studio is located in Kimihurura on Rugando street, take the cobblestone road behind Lemigo Hotel.
P.O. Box 5721, Kigali, Rwanda
Visit us at:
www.uburangaarts.com
Or please call or e-mail us at:
+250 788605924
+250 788944960
uburangaarts@gmail.com or jbbakunzi@gmail.com
