Daddy Ishimwe views art in a unique way to change the world. By using acrylic and oil painting, he has created his own art style that is popular among enthusiasts as “Daddyisme.” Daddyisme, is a unique style that combines the The African way of living and culture in a positive way. Although his inspiration is founded in nature, he merges with abstract and realism, with a hint of traditional decoration. The 23-year-old artist said that growing up, he considered himself talented and gained training at Ecole d’art de Nyundo between 2013 and 2015. During his training, he sold off a few of his portraits, which convinced him that there is money in art if one is hardworking, creative and smart. His portraits are found at Kigali art center, Rwanda National Art Museum (Kanombe), and 5 Swiss Hotel, Kiyovu. His clients are mostly local people and tourists. The African Monalisa’s portrait. He has grown his marketing base through online. His art pieces cost between Rwf 50,000 and Rwf 150,000 or more. How to earn from art online Ishimwe noted that social media is one of the platforms that artists can sell their work, as they can be assured of meeting global buyers. If one posts their art for instance on Instagram, he said, ensuring high-quality images, writing creative captions that tell a story, there is a chance of capturing the market. He also emphasised that artists should write a striking bio to attract followers but most importantly, post their work on a regular basis, at least twice per week. “Keep the content creative. There is power in posting really fascinating content because it draws people to gain interest in your work. The more followers, the more profitable opportunities are likely to come along,” he said. Ishimwe further stressed that the power of hashtags can’t be underestimated, because they make posts discoverable for people looking for art online, making them one of the biggest and best ways to grow one’s the fan base. He also said that artists should build an online gallery to showcase their artworks list their artworks on online auction sites, to connect with other art collectors around the world, providing access to a potentially vast audience for their creative works. Trials of artists He also pointed out that building an unbreakable self-trust with customers is a challenge as many bring portraits from other painters and ask artists to replicate which is not professional. “We are doing our best to encourage Rwandans that art is important as it helps in portraying our culture, create an understanding, influence society by changing opinions, imparting values and interpreting experiences,” “Art is also a medium for communication, attracts tourism, a way to express our creative ideas and imagination, elicits different reactions and emotions and moves them to think, to feel, and to act and reminds us of the values that we uphold,” he noted. Creating a successful business from art Ishimwe stressed that the art business requires creating the best and unique work, to be relevant to their target audience. He further said, that like in other businesses, an artist needs to find out as much as they can about who might want to buy their art—locally, nationally, internationally as well as seek to be updated with the latest developments in the art industry. Ishimwe emphasized that all artists should ask themselves the following questions; how big is your potential market? Who is buying art? Who is selling art? Who is your competition (that is to say, producing similar work) and what sort of prices they are getting for their work? Who do you want your audience to be? Where does your work fit in the broader art marketplace? And what type of spaces you want your work to be seen in. He also added that you should know your market place, for example, public exhibition spaces like, public art galleries, museums, libraries, open submission competitions. Commercial gallery spaces as these can range from local framing galleries up to international galleries. Direct access spaces are anywhere people can come to you directly to see your work, such as your studio, art fairs, and websites. The artist also urges emerging talents to create a business plan and review it on a daily basis. This can be down through accessing aspects such as; what do you expect to earn from your work over the next 12 months? In what months will the money come in? How will you manage during months when nothing is coming in? How much work will you need to sell in order to meet your income goals? How much work will you need to make in order to sell that amount?
