Being Creative in the Aftermath of Genocide: Rwandan Artists Reflect on Collaborative Practices of Memory, Tradition, and Invention Across Genres

This public event features three young Rwandan artists working in painting, music, acting, and poetry. Their work engages multiple senses (sight, hearing, touch) as they work to care for traditional artistic practices while also inventing new modes of expression. To begin the event, each of the three artists will speak for 15-20 minutes about their work. Then the moderator will ask questions for the three of them, and then we will take questions from the audience.
The workshop brings together prominent ethnographic scholars of Rwanda and Rwandan artists from several generations, with the aim of building connections and collaboration. Therefore it is important that people come in person, so that we can share meals together and have informal conversations, in addition to the official programming.
Speakers:
Michel Baseme Ishimwe, musician (@creatingrwandansounds)
Innocent Nkurunziza, painter and co-founder, Inema Arts Centre
Malaika Uwamahoro, poet and actress
Moderated by:
Michael Fischer, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hosted by:
Louisa Lombard, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Yale, and Aalyia Sadruddin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill