For four years, Impundu Arts existed without a place to call home. It lived in conversations, digital spaces, intimate gatherings and collaborations across distances, shaped by women artists building something together. Today, that journey takes physical form with the opening of a dedicated center for contemporary women artists. A space for creation, exchange, and visibility. A center for contemporary women artists designed to showcase their work and empower them to pursue their artistic careers. Impundu Arts Center exists because, for a long time, it was rare to see women visual artists represented in galleries/art spaces in Kigali. Yet historically, Rwandan women have always created art and craft, shaping culture in quiet but powerful ways. The name Impundu carries the spirit of celebration, recognizing and honoring women as important contributors in our community. In many ways, the center is that celebration made visible. For four years, we curated exhibitions and developed different art projects supporting women in visual arts in Rwanda. What began as a local initiative slowly became a network of artists working across borders. From Rwanda, the work expanded into East Africa, then West Africa, building connections between women artists across regions and practices. During this time, we have worked with L’Espace Rwanda, Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts, French Embassy in Rwanda and Ghana, Kvinna till Kvinna Rwanda, Goethe_Institut, different art galleries and many other partners who have contributed to this growing ecosystem of support. Together, they have made it possible for women to share their work and learn from one another. Art for community impact This journey has also gone beyond exhibitions. We have brought art into rural areas of Rwanda, used artistic practice to open dialogue on issues that deeply affect our communities and created space for conversations around teenage pregnancy, sexual reproductive health, mental health etc. Art became not only a form of expression, but a tool for education, care, and transformation. One of the most meaningful moments in this journey was the 2023 exhibition Walk With Me, which explored mental health in community contexts. The exhibition traveled as a “safari exhibition,” moving through different art centers and schools across Rwanda. Each stop became a space for open dialogue, learning, and reflection on mental health within a local context, challenging stigma and daring to open conversations that are often left unspoken. It was a powerful experience. People opened up, embraced the work, learned from it, shared their personal healing journey and most of them found themselves hugging one another afterwards. It reminded us of what becomes possible when art is accessible to everyone. The center is not only a physical home; it is a continuation of a process that has always been rooted in the transmission of knowledge, culture, and womanhood. It is a space for visibility, care, and shared artistic practice. It stands within a long history of Rwandan women's creativity, from traditional crafts to early formal art education, including pioneering generations of women who studied at Nyundo School of Arts in1987, such as Floride Mukabageni. As the center opens its doors, it also opens new possibilities for collaboration, learning, and artistic exploration. It is a space to continue telling Rwandan stories, to collaborate with women artists from different places and organizations, and to strengthen culture, education, and historical preservation through art. Finding a place we can call home is not the final destination; it is the foundation for what comes next, a future that invites many more voices, stories, forms of expression to grow and strengthen the creative economy together. The author is a visual artist
