For those of you have had an opportunity to visit the Ivuka Arts Kigali Studio you will
be pleased to note that the yellow sand bags that greeted you at the entrance have been
replaced with a small "board walk" to cross from the road into the studio!
A most welcomed change!
A most welcomed change!
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| Dave and Bruce making there way down into the studio. The art studio is on the right and the new Nziza Artworks is the orange building. |
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| This is a brand new store in an old space. A soon to be coffee bar will be opening here, too. Inside, Emmanuel and Innocent designed a great store for not only the things the women from this cooperative make but also from other crafters and designers around Kigali. |
THIS WAS GRAND OPENING DAY!
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| Kristi had seen a painting that she liked while she was here so i took some shots --trying to find it for her but in the end we discovered it had ben sold. |
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| You gotta love the curves! |
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| And the not so curvy! |
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| A reflective moment.. looking from behind the scenes over red metal roofs and houses in need of repair to the golf course! The very "picture" of that is art waiting to happen. |
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| This room was nothing but junk and dirt all over the floor before these guys got a hold of it. They did a great job not only with the art work but with the design of the room and simply seeing it to completion so quickly! (If you see any thing that you would like me to bring home... please let me know before Tues.) |
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| The picture of the Intore Dancer with the sword and shield is totally done in embroidery. It is rich in color and design and was done by the lady in the picture below. I've never seen needlework quite like this. These women are all creating new art and designs and are seeking to support themselves. It is a tremendous business and highlights very talented women who have suffered much. |
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| But the suffering is forgotten, as you can see in their faces. They attain much joy and satisfaction from their work and doing it together builds strong bonds of friendship among them. |
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| I fell in love with this painting. You've seen my pictures of all of the "motos" here in Kigali. Actually, they sort of rule the roads. They are everywhere you turn. Sometimes as you drive you are surrounded with motos! They are in front, behind and on both sides of the car all at the same time. This is the cheapest Kigali taxi service and fastest way around town. This particular painting was done by Emmanuel and it was totally done by hand. No paintbrushes touched the surface. It is a large canvas and will soon be traveling home with me to take up residence in our house. YIPPEE!!! Bruce was very generous to buy this painting for me. It will always provide us with great memories of Kigali and a few nightmares, too. (So far this year only 2 motos have driven into our car!!) But no one has been hurt. Everyone we bring here loves the studio... |
By the way.... we were at Heaven (the restaurant) Saturday night and
saw a young dance troupe perform that the Ivuka Art guys have put together.
The youngest was 5 and the oldest, 15. They had great energy and love of dancing!
You can read more about them here:
At this point in the afternoon Bruce and Dave had planned to head to Lake Kivu
and visit Kibuye... but I think they were both tired. I had planned to stay
home and get caught up on the blog among other things but right after
our visit here they decided to call it a day and stay home.
We relaxed in the evening and had fun talking and then watched a Woody Allen movie that Michelle had sent us called "Scoop". A pretty funny movie. It was our 2nd time
to watch it but it was even good the 2nd time around. Thanks, Michelle!
All for today!
love,
margie
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