Yego Arts, one of the biggest art centres will be marking its third anniversary in a new home in Kimihurura on Friday. Founded in 2013 by painter Tony Cyizanye ,Yego Arts is on the path to recovery after their home of two years in Nyarutarama was demolished in August last year, following a court order to settle an ownership wrangle of the premises that housed Yego Arts. Olivier Kwitonda, a painter and now acting manager of the gallery, says he was given a 15-minute notice to vacate the premise, after which it was razed down. Kwitonda and colleagues were able to find a suitable location in October last year, and have been rebuilding the gallery. “We believe in ourselves, and we are not giving up.Even though you go through a difficult time, tomorrow will be different. When we started Yego, our mission was to help young people to discover their talents; we are working to help them. We still have many things to learn. In this career, you can’t say you know everything,” says Kwitonda, who has his brothers under his wing since their parents passed away. The gallery boasts of 12 painters and 200 finished pieces. Kwitonda advises artists to focus on their goals to manage the challenges. He also says that once the gallery fully gets back on its feet, the plan is to take on 30 to 40 children from poor neighborhoods to teach them the trade and even traditional dance just like other galleries in the country do - to “add something to the art.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw
