The Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and Rwanda Arts Initiative have joined efforts to transform the country’s arts industry and make it more productive.According to WDA director general Jerome Gasana, the two institutions are organising a tour countrywide to meet talented people and gather their views on what can be done to equip them with skills to generate incomes like other paying professions. “Art is a profession the Rwandan government is supporting to help people create their own jobs and use their talent. In developed countries, artistes are richer than other people but in Rwanda it is not the case,” Gasana told journalists on Saturday in Kigali.“We decided to tour the whole country and meet with artists, art teachers, private sector and government institutions to gather ideas before the development.”The arts targeted include film making, music, hand crafts and other artisanal activities which seem to have been neglected.The tour, started yesterday, in Iwawa, Western Province. Today officials from the two institutions are expected to meet with artists in Burera district, Northern Province then travel to Gisagara in Southern Province, tomorrow. On Wednesday, the team will be in Kigali at Telecom House before heading to Kirehe district in the Eastern Province on Thursday. “After those consultations, we will come up with informed conclusions based on informed decisions. We will also see if we can have more schools around the country which will help promote arts in Rwanda,” Gasana said.Ecole d’art de Nyundo which teaches arts was strengthened and the movie industry is being developed with the opening of African Digital Multimedia Academy.The tour will, according to Dolce Rugamba, the founder of Rwanda Arts Initiative, help revolutionarise the industry.During the Saturday meeting, Epimaque Ndayisaba, a gospel artiste called for support, and suggested that a school of art should be set up at a district or sector level to train people with various talents.
