Women Artists

"You need to understand that you have it, and that you can use it. Because what you do not use, you will definitely lose. You got here because you earned that seat at that table. Don't give away your power by ignoring that fact."

"As senior women in your organizations, every single one of you in this room has influence,"

"Art was around us all the time, on walls, shops signs, in masquerades. I was always drawing or making things out of broken bits of wood and on my way home from school I used to paint signs for the small businesses, like barbers who wanted the different styles they did to be on show."

"I have always liked looking at people and trying to capture what I see so this was a huge challenge for me. I do try and take my paintings to an optimistic or celebratory level, wherever they start. Taking the positive elevates, and there are many positives to see if we really look."

"When I first saw Okoro, I thought she was amazing from the get-go, and everything she's doing now is just reinforcing that. I love the way she's constantly exploring her work. She doesn't stay in one place."

"I like her (Okoro) confidence and her ability to engage with people, take chances and trust in the process of things. Her future is really bright and her work is uplifting."

"I want people to walk into the exhibition and feel like they belong. I hope they can feel the sense of movement and see themselves reflected in the pieces."

"I want my work to be accessible in different ways, more ingrained into other pieces of culture, other than just being on white walls. I want to expand my reach, because when people find my work and they feel a connection and they get it, then I feel like it was for them as well."

"I wanted so badly just to fit in and assimilate with what was acceptable. Which is hard because I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb. I wanted to be invisible."

"Whatever I make is for myself first. And when I do that, it naturally resonates with whoever else it is also for."

"To me, a punk spirit is just living freely, disregarding societal norms and just being free to be themselves."

"It's taken me years to come to that conclusion, and there are still some times as an adult when those feelings creep in again. But I think just doing my art has helped me a lot, and getting my art out there lets me know it's OK just to be who I am."

"When I watched the episode where Jennifer Beals said my name and showed my painting, I squealed a little. I’m happy to see some of my goals begin to come to fruition. There is so much more that I can do with art. I’m just getting started."

"I love two flowers in particular, the hibiscus and the poppy, beautiful blooms that die very quickly. For me they reflect the beauty and transience of life."

"It felt like something was missing. After maturing, seeing life and experiencing the death of people close to me, it kind of felt like life really is short and I need to start living and I started small from there."

"In my heart, I knew I wanted to do art, but there was still that drive to feel like I'm actually doing something with my life in a way that my family would understand."

"Where I grew up, people heard of (Pablo Picasso) or whatever, but my family was kind of like, 'That's a nice hobby, but you need to go be a doctor or a lawyer or engineer."

"I just decided to give up on art. I liked making work, but I think I had a vision of what an artist was. I thought there would be less struggle and anxiety. But it's impossible not to see art in your life. You really can't avoid it, it's everywhere."

"Colours and light have always been a main source of inspiration for me and people and flowers (poppies and hibiscuses) have been the vehicle from which I derive my inspiration. The play of light on colour can be seen in almost anything but every now and then a particular glow from a particular light angle strikes at the primordial in us. For me, this is red and the many related pigment created by the action of the light through it. An example of this can be seen when light shines through whisky. I am interested in people’s history and would like to incorporate that in some way in my work, maybe through the relationship between the staff, owners and the produce."

"I was working as a freelance graphic artist but got married and had two children – meeting deadlines became very difficult. I was always drawing my sons and people asked me to do their children. I soon saw it was a way of earning money."

"We met many challenges like all newborns in the industry, for instance, not knowing what the market demand was, not having advisors or mentors to guide us through the process, the shortage of fabric and even lack of adequate information in different training opportunities in the industry. And above everything, there was no solid salary to look forward to at the end of the month, instead, we were the ones who needed to keep working if we were to make any money,"

"It is a sector many people don’t attach or see the actual value but we are delighted that the government has thought about us and it is encouraging for us to do even better so that more can be achieved in future."

"If it’s possible, being self-employed is the best decision to make when you are still young. You get to take responsibility and gain experience through failure and tips from other people in the industry who have more experience"

"Starting from scratch was not easy, but I had a little experience in the industry and most significantly, passion for it. I knew we were going to struggle, but not for long, because Rwanda’s fashion industry grows day by day and so there’s always room for fresh ideas. We can learn from others and share different experiences"

"Twatangiye dufite ubushobozi buke, dufite ahantu hatoya hadashobora gukwirwamo aho kudodera n’ibindi byose twifuzaga, ariko uko ubushobozi bugenda bwiyongera twafunguye ahandi. Twabonye ahanini hashobora guhura neza n’urwego tugezemo."

"Of course we are able to take care of ourselves, we also have four employees with a monthly salary and, we contribute to the ‘Made in Rwanda’ campaign,"

"We want our brand to be recognised on the international level and we want our products to be accessible worldwide through online services and other channels"

"We met many challenges like all newborns in the industry, for instance, not knowing what the market demand was, not having advisors or mentors to guide us through the process, the shortage of fabric and even lack of adequate information in different training opportunities in the industry. And above everything, there was no solid salary to look forward to at the end of the month, instead, we were the ones who needed to keep working if we were to make any money,"

"We both wanted to be financially independent, to create job opportunities in our community and, prove anybody who underestimates the determination and proficiency of girls or women wrong,"

"This makes us proud knowing that the current pandemic has affected us but this initiative will ensure that our efforts as artistes are not in vain."

"Customer care is very important. We give special treatment to our clients and make sure that they are comfortable when with us. We also make sure that we follow a client’s requirements word for word. We customise a few details on the clothes when a client asks for it and also offer delivery services,"

"I've always been comfortable in my skin so I never let anyone look down on me because I am a coloured woman. I would like to accredit my easy journey to the level of education and literacy of the environment I am in."

"I definitely want to continue with the modelling career path that I’ve chosen. I want to be successful enough to make enough money to start my own business."

"The music business is highly dominated by men and I truly believe that the only way we can navigate it safely as women and even take control of our careers is by coming together like this,"

"Being a female celebrity puts one under constant evaluation and criticism. What can be done by an ordinary person and tolerated by society is a scandal if you do it."

"Some people judge you without even knowing you, they don’t take you seriously. Some even invent stories that are not true about you."

"I don’t like putting my private life especially my love life on display but, definitely I know I am cute, grownup female and yes, I date."

"I am known through Sweden as a Rwandan girl due to singing and making records of Rwandan culture and guess what, has made me famous and earns me a living, basically it pays my bills"

"As we continue to work together as a community, I am confident that our country will continue to grow and prosper in upcoming years. May God always be with us."

"He asked them to take care of those who see them and that there are lives he should not put out"

"I am called to love, I love everyone"

"She instead said people should spend their time wisely, minding their own business instead of interfering with her private life."

"Доля випробовує тих, хто намірився іти до великої мети, але сильних духом не спіймає ніхто, вони зі стиснутими руками вперто і сміливо ідуть до наміченої мети. І тоді доля винагороджує їх сторицеєю і відкриває перед ними всі таємниці дійсно прекрасного і незрівнянного мистецтва."

"І що б я не робила, куди б не йшла, а думи про малювання завжди, як вірний друг, зі мною."

"I am based in France for the past 12 years, and I have been running Undiscovered Canvas (promoting global investment in and profiling of African Art). My strongest impact has been to identify young and emerging artists from Southern Africa and introduce them directly into a mature market"

"I realised that my vision for the residency was changing. I no longer wanted to cater for Undiscovered Canvas artists only, but I wanted to work with female artists across the African continent. I wanted to create a powerful community of women artists, collectors, gallerists, investors who would consciously support each other."

"I realised how limiting it was to run the residency under a private company. Raising funds was not easy and the residency only catered for artists by Undiscovered Canvas"

"I have no loyalty in music a bop is a bop. So my general shuffle play is quite varied. Sometimes I'd rather like listen to a series or movie I've already seen so I just watch it in my head. From time to time, I’ll listen to stand-up comedy."

"Yeah, yeah. I mean, I am a little healthier now in the sense that I keep the work out of my bedroom. This is something I just started like literally like two months ago. It was a matter of, I love you but I need some space."

"When lockdown hit I just moved everything into my old flat because I didn't know how long lockdown was going to be, so it just made sense to have everything close by. I loved it. I loved having my work where I live and just being able to work anytime I wanted. There's an intimacy to living with your work. It’s one of the first and last things you see every single day and I love that. It also like reminded me of the early days of my practice when I literally just worked out of my bedroom. I think for now I'm gonna keep working out of my flat. I will probably go back to a more traditional studio situation at some point but for now, I think I'm gonna stick with this."