Future Africa Visions in Time (FAVT), a temporary exhibition that has travelled to different countries in the world was on Friday night launched in Kigali where it is set to exhibit for six weeks under the theme of healing. Showing at Kandt House Museum, the exhibition includes photography, installations, soundscapes, projections, text and performance and will be accompanied by a series of publications and activations, such as guided tours and thematic talks. Being a travelling exhibition, Rwanda happens to be the last stop of the display which has exhibited in African countries like Namibia, as well as other places in the world where African diaspora lives like Cuba and Brazil. The Kigali edition was made possible through a partnership between the University of Bayreuth - Germany, the Goethe Institute Kigali and the Kandt House Museum which is the host of the exhibition. Just like its name “Future Africa Visions in Time,” the exhibition uses different kinds of art to ask questions to people about how they vision the future. The Kigali Edition features new works by Rwandan artists like Crista Uwase, Chris Schwagga and Cedric Mizero, alongside artworks from former FAVT editions. Speaking about the topic of healing under which the exhibition is running, Katharina Hey, the Director of the Goethe Institute in Rwanda said that the subject of healing is an important one for Rwandans considering the traumatizing past they went through. “Healing and remembering is something highly important to the Rwandan society and to Rwandan artistes. Thinking about a traumatizing past to create a future together is something you can do through healing,” she said. She said the exhibition is one that brings together very different types of art pieces that are from different media forms. “Here you find different art pieces brought together. You find sound installations; collage artworks; performance art; installation photography,” she said. “So this is what makes this exhibition special. It allows the audience to touch all senses. There are parts for just hearing and let your mind carry away, art pieces for looking at, and others where you just close your eyes and still be inspired.” On why the last edition of the exhibition was held in Kigali, Hey said, “Kigali and Rwanda in general is something like a lighthouse of Africa. The exemplary progress and development in the country gives is a very specific position and a lot of attention outside in the whole world.” Carine Rusaro, the Manager of the Kandt House Museum said that the exhibition also provides an opportunity for the visitors of the museum to sit down, ask themselves questions, think and look for answers. Since FAVT’s inception in 2013, various artists and cultural producers have participated in and contributed to the work at the Bayreuth Academy as Fellows and guests. The exhibition also provides a discursive platform for the research output of the Bayreuth Academy, mutually engaging researchers, artists, the University of Bayreuth, and the general public. The exhibition is made up of different art pieces including photography and sound installations. Visitors interacting in the museum during the Opening of Future Africa Vision in Time Exhibition on Friday. / Craish Bahizi editor@newtimesrwanda.com
