From fashion to fine art, design to dance, Rwanda’s cultural scene respects the past while blazing a fresh new trail
Produced by Visit Rwanda
Think Rwanda is just about wildlife and natural wonders? Think again. Creative, contemporary energy pulses through this ancient land, combining tradition with modern thinking for a style that is uniquely Rwandan. You can see it everywhere: in the architecture, the art and crafts, and in the people themselves. This is a country forging its own identity as it explores what it means to be Rwandan today.
“Creatives are developing this new type of aesthetic,” says Pierra Ntayombya, CEO of ethical lifestyle brand Haute Baso in Kigali. “It’s about modernising traditional crafts – what does that look like?”
To find out, Haute Baso collaborates with artisans from around the country on a range of home decor and fashion accessories alongside its main clothing lines – all of which proudly carry the Made in Rwanda label. Bold colours and striking patterns speak to Rwanda’s heritage, while the silhouettes and cuts have a distinctly modern sensibility. It’s a winning combination; small wonder that Kigali is the host of the annual Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which attracts top talent from around Africa.
© Crookes & Jackson
Stroll through the busy streets of Kigali and you’ll see high-quality basketry, ceramics and fabrics for sale. This irrepressible creativity spills out of shops and market stalls and makes its mark on the city itself, its walls a canvas for the talents of a flourishing new generation of street artists as well as established names, their bright (and entirely legal) murals inspired by everything from politics to nature. Inema Art Center, meanwhile, houses an important showcase of Rwandan fine art, with 10 artists in residence and an on-site workshop that trains and employs local craftswomen. Old also meets new in the arresting sight of the Kigali Convention Centre, a contemporary events space designed to resemble a beehive – the building style of traditional Rwandan homes.
Rwandan crafts are also used to spectacular effect at the country’s high-end safari camps. Take Wilderness Safaris’ Bisate Lodge, World Winner for Hotel Interior Architecture at the Prix Versailles Awards in Paris in 2018, just a year after opening. Here, the colours and features of Rwanda’s landscape are brilliantly evoked through the use of natural materials and textiles. Inspired by the King’s Palace in Nyanza, each of the six thatched, spherical villas is decorated with imigongo, a striking geometric art form indigenous to Rwanda, as well as cow-hide rugs in a nod to the farming community, fireplaces made from local volcanic stone and emerald-green chandeliers that represent the surrounding jungle-clad hills. It’s a masterclass in making luxury feel entirely in keeping with, and respectful of, its environment.
© Crookes & Jackson
The backbone of Rwandan culture, however, is undoubtedly dance and music. Wherever you go in the country, you’ll hear rap and reggae, folk and soul, drifting from windows, blaring from cars and playing in bars and restaurants. Music and dance displays are an integral part of celebrations, from family weddings to national festivals, and catching one should be high on your list of must-do experiences. A drum ceremony, held around a blazing open fire beneath a star-studded sky, will have your heart racing with excitement, while a historic intore dance, featuring a graceful ballet-like section performed by women followed by a rousing, energetic section by men – known as “the dance of heroes” – will leave you invigorated. Be sure to also seek out the work of Rwanda’s emerging music artists – such as rapper Kivumbi King, singer-songwriter Alyn Sano, music producer and composer Michael Makembe and R&B singer Mike Kayihura, to name just a few.
You may come to Rwanda for the gorillas, but you’ll leave with music in your heart and more than a few pieces for your home and wardrobe.
For further information, see visitrwanda.com
Read the original article on Condé Nast Traveler.