Our lives are increasingly marked and divided by borders and boundaries. At a time of increased migration, refugee crises and unequal visa policies, geographical borders are becoming more visible as lines that separate countries, regions and people. These borders influence, shape and limit our lives. Boundaries that are hidden, sometimes even invisible, have the same effect.
“Where do we go from here?” In Rwanda, this question seemed unanswerable after the genocide against the Tutsi minority in 1994. The massacre of more than 1 million Rwandans, by Rwandans, shocked the world, and inflated fear and deep mistrust between friends and neighbors. After 1994, we needed to rebuild the country from ashes—a task
Artist and curator, Hope Azeda, h as been honored as a 2018 McNulty Prize Laureate. Hope is recognised for her invaluable work through the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, an international event that brings together performers from Rwanda and around the world to explore the trauma of conflict and the depths of the human experience. The Aspen
The Ubumuntu Arts Festival is back for the fourth edition with incredible performances from around the world. This year, Africa’s largest performing arts gathering for humanity will share the power of art in building personal and community resilience. Attendees will be taken on a journey to explore the notion of resilience and the paths that
It gives me great pleasure to see Rwanda host an auspicious event such as this that brings artists from all over the world to discuss issues of humanity.
As you are aware, our recent past let us down in our fight for humanity but,…
The values of this festival lie really close to my heart as many of you already know, I eat, breathe, and drink Ubumuntu. This is the 4th edition and the support and interest received has been positively overwhelming. This year’s theme is Art and the Path to Resilience.
Hilde Cannoodt is a dancer, choreographer and teacher from Belgium. She made her maiden trip to Rwanda last year, to participate in the Ubumuntu Arts Festival. Together with Tjarda Van Straten, a friend and fellow choreographer/teacher from the Netherlands, the two created a dance piece in collaboration with Rwandan artistes, which they presented at the
Theater and performance groups from across the globe have started arriving in the country for the third edition of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival.
Founded in 2015, the festival takes place from July 14-16 at the Amphitheater of the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
The festival is a series of free workshops, stage performances and exhibitions
The Ubumuntu Arts Festival returns to Kigali with incredible performances from around the world. This year’s festival focuses on the intersection of art and technology and how each can come together to advance a shared sense of humanity. For the third edition, performances will connect attendees with the concepts of art and technology by bringing
Rwandan drama fans will, next month, watch live a survivor of the worst kidnap of 21st century as the country concludes a hundred days commemoration of Genocide against Tutsi. On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria.
“Joe Quintero (the other co-founder of B.R.I.D.G.E Theatre Project) and I were first introduced to Mashirika in the fall of 2012, when they performed their powerful production of Africa’s Hope in Los Angeles. Afterward, I attended a theatre workshop led by Hope Azeda of Mashirika, where I connected with her about the possibility of collaborating. It
Tjarda Van Straten and Hilde Cannoodt are dance choreographers and teachers from the Netherlands and Belgium respectively. The two jetted into the country on Tuesday, as part of the foreign cast for the second edition of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, a brainchild of the Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company.
Up to 18 countries will take part in the second edition of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, will run from July 14-17 at the amphitheater of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Gisozi.
Ubumuntu is Kinyarwanda for “humanity”. Inspired by and created for the sake of humanity, the festival will run under the slogan, “I am because you are, you are because I am”. The inaugural Ubumuntu Arts Festival (2015)
The second edition of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival took place at the Kigali Genocide Memorial from 14-17 July and shared the importance of forgiveness and sustainable peace in Rwanda and around the world. The festival showcased entertaining theatre, dance, and poetry performances by artists from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, USA,
The second Ubumuntu Arts Festival took place at the Kigali Genocide Memorial amphitheater with artists from 18 different countries performing at the four-day event. The annual festival is organised by Mashirika Performing Arts Company to promote the importance of compassion and the values of humanity. The event was opened on Thursday 14 July with a welcoming speech
On the second day of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, performances focused on the role of women as crucial to forging peace after conflict. The first piece of the night was ‘Movement for Humanity’ – a three-week project led by choreographers Tjarda Van Straten from the Netherlands and Hilde Cannoodt from
Rwanda has no formal training for arts in schools and universities so it is through training and collaboration that our arts sector gains knowledge. It is through such collaboration that a team of five young up-and-coming artistes from Rwanda recently toured India and Sri Lanka for a series of trainings and collaborative performances with their
