As mainstream events space shrank due to the Covid-19 lockdown, Maison Beaulier recently broke the silence by unveiling Factory of Dreams, an exhibition holding rich, creative concepts by various visual artists.

Bringing together works of 16 local artists, Factory of Dreams kicked off on August 4, and continues till September 30, this exhibition is hosted by L’Espace, a new art venue located at Kacyiru, Kigali.

L’Espace transforms, not only this space but to the entire visual arts event scene, with a unique set up in the organization and presenting of craft.

The vast space is well utilised, presenting a cocktail of art and craft right from wood installations, paintings on canvas, photography, mixed media art, abstract fashion pieces to video installations.

The cumulative effect allows its audience to ponder through intriguing creativity in several art forms like Visual Arts, Design, Music, Culinary, Fashion, under one space for public showcasing.

Maison Beaulier held its first showcasing in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2017.

It then visited Munich, Germany (2018), Milan, Italy (2019), and finally Kigali several pop-up sessions.

Factory of Dreams unveils mind-blowing craft by artists who may not be renowned in the industry, which is testimony to the depth of Rwanda’s basket of skill and potential.

Rwandan Uganda-based artist Collin Sekajugo’s work poses debate on how culture still influences day-to-day life. He introduces photography into his pieces, which when integrated with paints, emerge as great mix-media pieces.

MDD’s collection posits the possibility of tapping into the future through his symmetrical, semi-abstract drawings that point to the possibility of time travel in the near future.

The exhibition also presents a video collaboration by filmmaker Moise Ganza and Natacha Muzira — a spoken word artist and actress — who present a unique story into creative concepts.

Spiritual wear

Mucyo, a contemporary artist’s bleach art introduces uniqueness in using canvas with semi-abstract images produced by a technique of burning the darker side to bring out the light.

In Cedic Mizero's untitled three-piece collection is of costumes mosaic of cloth, rosary, or Catholic medallion, we ponder what humanity wears — the physical as opposed to the inner being.

Nelson Niyakire takes our imagination beyond the mainstream, while Moses Izabiriza introduces new measure-tape canvas styles, and Brave Tangz provokes Rwandan society’s free expression in foreign languages.

Willy Karekezi presents the 2084 human; Benjamin Rusagara’s has a diverse mix-media of sisal, beads, cotton, and oil on canvas tapes.