YOU HAVE PROBABLY been seeing photos captioned ‘RAW Music’ on social media of a workshop bringing together different Rwandan female artistes and creatives listening to different speakers. If you have been wondering what they are up to, then you can be sure soon you will witness a movement that will revolutionize Rwanda’s music industry with women at the forefront. For starters, RAW Music stands for Rwanda Association of Women in Music, a brainchild of singer Teta Diana, who has partnered with Sweden-based Mix Musik, which is aimed at bridge Sweden to Rwanda and Rwanda to Sweden. Teta, who has been based in Sweden in the past several years says the project is centred on creating self-sustained music careers for women in Rwanda. The project is funded by the Swedish Institute. “The project is based on knowledge exchange between Sweden and Rwanda, precisely with female musicians in both countries. “I am running it under Sakwe Studios in collaboration with Mix Musik, an organization based in Malmö,” Teta told The New Times. “I simply wanted to meet other women in this industry, create a safe space where all the challenges we go through can be discussed and hopefully find solutions or think collectively of the way forward,” she added. The ‘Ndaje’ singer says she hopes the project will bring female artistes up to speed and empower them to work towards growing their music and brands to earn more from their craft, while sharing knowledge and experiences with colleagues in Sweden. “It is my own initiative, and I collaborated with Mix Musik in Sweden, in order to bridge Sweden to Rwanda and Rwanda to Sweden. I really hope this project opens doors for other participants,” “The music business is highly dominated by men and I truly believe that the only way we can navigate it safely as women and even take control of our careers is by coming together like this,” Teta said. The singer pointed out that the project was timely and that three days were not enough for the training but its a good start and the ladies are now more connected and the bond is stronger than before. “I really hope this continues, I hope it inspires fellow artistes and I cant wait to be part of anything that lifts us up and the music industry in Rwanda,” “I invite everyone, men and women, to support this initiative. Please follow our Twitter and IG @sakwestudios for more info and updates,” Teta urges. The workshop which took place from February 21 to 23, saw different guest speakers including Carina Nilsson, the Mayor of Malmö, where Teta lives, the Minister of Youth and Culture, Rosemary Mbabazi, the CEO of RDB, Clare Akamanzi, the chairperson of Transparency International, Marie Immaculée Ingabire and experts in music business from Sweden as well as legendary singer Cécile Kayirebwa. The workshop touched on a number of topics including the situation of women in the music business, Gender Equality, both in Sweden and Rwanda, past, present and future, freelancing in music business, music production and distribution as well as art and culture in business. Some of the artistes and creatives in attendance included Liza Kamikazi, Young Grace, Angel Umutoni, Malaika Uwamahoro, Aline Gahongayire, Tonzi, Gaby Kamanzi, Stella Tush, Aline Sano, Sophie Nzayisenga and Anita Pendo, among others. RAW Music participants pose for a group photo with Minister Mbabazi.
