Kacyiru is booming with art galleries, and what this can only mean is that the people who live, work and hang out and shop in Kacyiru are rich. Right and wrong. Because if that were so –that Kacyiru is teeming with contemporary art spaces because its residents are rich, then how about Nyarutarama and Kiyovu of the rich? So why then is Kacyiru so awash with art galleries? Well, the first reason is that I myself reside in Kacyiru, and this mere fact makes me to know whatever goings-on in my backyard better than yours. This is why, while your own knowledge of Kacyiru art houses is limited to only the obvious two suspects (Inema and Ivuka), my own informed list extends further to some more obscure joints like Tongo and Niyo Art Galleries, not to forget Timothy Wandulu’s Concept Studios. NIYO’s not hard to spot, and that’s because it boasts some powerful tenants for immediate neighbors; the Kigali Public Library, the American Embassy, Kacyiru bus station, a Church, and then also it’s right next to –actually shares a colorful wall with the Akagari of that area. Speaking of Wandulu, we always knew he was ‘cooking’ something from a couple while ago, when he started to upload some “strange” photos on his Facebook wall. Wandulu cut his teeth at Inema, where his art works still enjoy prominent display to this day. His jagged signature can still be seen on his environmentally-conscious pieces and installations, a sizeable number of which are made from pieces of scrap that the artiste picks up from trash cans and along the streets. The dreadlocked Wandulu is one of the most humble and disciplined visual artists I’ve met in Kigali, in an industry that boasts its fair share of dreadlocked idiots and wannabe rastas. Of course, all talk about contemporary art in Kigali must start and end with “Inema Arts Center”. This is the S.I unit when it comes to the contemporary art scene in Kigali. The impact the Inema boys have created goes far beyond the art spectrum itself. To many young contemporary Kigalians, Inema is a way of life, a social cause and movement. Today, Inema is no longer just an art gallery. It’s no longer just art pieces and art classes and yoga or even coffee. It comprises everything now -a home really; a place you go and you can create, innovate, or simply just chill and refresh yourself. You can buy something, you can have something to eat or drink, talk to people and socialize, you can own or invest in good art, and you can be inspired. Inema also has some of the best in-house rasta chefs in town.
