Creatives from Rwanda and across Africa gathered in Kigali over the weekend for Creative Talks, a workshop designed to promote artistic exchange, collaboration and mentorship.

Held at Institut Français and L’Espace from September 11-13, the workshop was part of Hang’Art Africa, an independent organisation that connects artists from different regions and creates opportunities for creative exchange.

Founded by Celine Fatoux Hagoye, Hang’Art Africa launched Creative Talks to facilitate encounters between different artistic ecosystems and create opportunities for artists to share ideas, experiences and knowledge.

The initiative places a particular focus on East African artists, especially those from Rwanda.

Hagoye told The New Times that the focus on East Africa is rooted in her connection to the region and her belief that its artists remain underrepresented in the international art market despite the wealth of talent.

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She said the programme brings established international artists from the diaspora to Rwanda to collaborate with local creatives and share their experience.

"The initiative allows local artists to share the needs of young creatives, including the advice and support they are looking for, while invited artists develop content around those needs,” she said.

The programme features technical workshops, open discussions and exchanges, creating a platform for artistic mentorship and collaboration.

Creative Talks covers several disciplines, including digital art, painting, photography, fashion design and dance.

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The international lineup included Kenyan painter Velma Rosai, Nigerian photographer and filmmaker Stephen Tayo and dancer Daniel Ahifon. Rwandan participants included digital artist Dolph Banza, photographer Serrah Galos, dancer Eya Khalifa and artist Maurice de Bone, among others.

For Kigali-based visual artist Dolph Banza, the event provided an opportunity for artists and audiences to engage more deeply than they typically can online.

Banza, who explores Rwandan heritage through his work, said artists often share their creations online, but interactions are generally limited to likes, emojis and reposts.

"It is not really a deep conversation, where you can ask questions and have a meaningful exchange. Online platforms are not necessarily spaces designed for that,” he said.

He said physical gatherings allow artists and audiences to interact directly, resulting in more genuine exchanges.

"Online, people can sometimes be biased by simply liking their friends’ work or reposting it. But when it comes to the difference between online and physical interaction, it is like day and night in terms of how the interaction happens between artists and their audiences,” Banza said.

He added that such events can help artists grow, as questions and feedback from audiences can challenge them to look beyond their existing ideas and expand their creative boundaries.

Building opportunities across Africa

Nigerian photographer and filmmaker Stephen Tayo said Creative Talks could support young creatives by creating opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing across African countries.

"I think helping young creatives means that the more involved young people are, the more we can think about creating solutions,” Tayo said.

He said the event could also create opportunities for collaborations among creatives from different African cities.

"For example, now there’s an avenue for possible collaboration between someone from Nairobi, Lagos or even Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire,” he said, adding that such connections and opportunities are important in the creative sector.

Tayo also stressed the importance of building a stronger creative community across Africa.

"For me, it is all about understanding the importance of community as a continent. We need to understand how we can push and support one another. I’m Nigerian, but that doesn’t mean I cannot celebrate Côte d’Ivoire. I think it is all about understanding and celebrating ourselves, regardless of where we come from within the African space,” he said.

Kenyan painter Velma Rosai said bringing artists from different countries together provides an opportunity to learn from different cultures and artistic processes.

"This is a collaboration between artists because we are from different cultures. It is a chance to see how each of us works and our processes and be inspired even more to create,” Rosai said.

She said meeting other artists can inspire creatives to adopt, adapt or reject new ideas, but that the exchange itself remains valuable.

"Just by meeting other artists, absorbing or rejecting it is always good to exchange because most of our time we are in our studios, locked in, and we never come out,” she said.

Plans for future editions

Hagoye said the inaugural edition is being treated as a pilot to assess what works and identify areas for improvement.

The organisers hope to hold Creative Talks every two years in Kigali, with a different lineup of artists for each edition.

In the long term, Hang’Art Africa also plans to establish partnerships with schools to involve art students in the programme.

Hagoye said the organisation would initially consider working with Nyundo School of Art before potentially expanding to schools in Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as Kenya and Somalia.

She said the broader goal is to grow Creative Talks while creating more opportunities for artistic exchange, mentorship and collaboration across Africa.