The Ubumuntu Arts Organization has unveiled plans for a mega eco-friendly arts venue in Rwanda, a project expected to redefine the country’s creative landscape while supporting the continued growth of the internationally acclaimed Ubumuntu Arts Festival.
The proposed creative hub, to be developed approximately seven kilometres from Kigali International Airport, will provide a home for artists, researchers, and performers.
The centre will include rehearsal studios, performance theatres, outdoor stages, a restaurant, and creative workspaces, all designed to blend with and protect the surrounding ecosystem.
Unlike conventional entertainment venues, the project is envisioned as a year-round arts incubator where artists can rehearse, conduct research, participate in residencies, and engage communities through creative expression.
The announcement comes as the Ubumuntu Arts Festival kicks off its 12th edition, celebrating unprecedented international participation.
This year is very special because countries are now organizing national competitions just to select companies to come to the festival. Colombia did exactly that, and for me, it is incredibly humbling. It shows the trust the world now has in the festival, Hope Azeda, Founder and Artistic Director of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, told Taarifa.
Azeda said the growing international interest is driven by the festival’s unique mission of using art to address difficult conversations around healing, forgiveness, trauma, and reconciliation, rather than focusing solely on entertainment.
We are not just doing entertainment. We are creating safe spaces for difficult conversations. Through art, we explore healing, imagination, and creativity, and we share tools that communities around the world can learn from, she said.
For the past 12 years, the Ubumuntu Arts Festival has been hosted at the Kigali Genocide Memorial amphitheatre, a venue Azeda describes as instrumental in shaping the festival’s identity.
However, she said the organisers are looking ahead to the festival’s next chapter by exploring a venue purpose-built for large-scale performing arts productions while honouring the memorial’s enduring place at the heart of the festival’s journey.
The festival has really grown; we need rehearsal rooms, artist residences, research spaces, and facilities that allow artists to create throughout the year, not just during the festival, she said.
Environmental sustainability lies at the heart of the proposed development. The venue is envisioned as a model of environmentally responsible design, preserving the surrounding ecosystem while demonstrating that cultural infrastructure and ecological conservation can coexist.
Azeda remains confident the vision will attract the partnerships and investment needed to bring it to life.
Ideas are more difficult to get than money. As long as we have the vision and people believe in it, the resources will come. This is not just a commercial project; it is a place that celebrates our memory, our history, our stories, and our communities, she said.
If realised, the eco-friendly arts venue would become one of Africa’s most significant creative infrastructure developments, providing a permanent home for the Ubumuntu Arts Festival while positioning Rwanda as a regional destination for performing arts, cultural tourism, and artistic innovation.
It would enable the festival to expand its programming, host international residencies, nurture emerging talent, and further strengthen Rwanda’s position as a global hub for cultural dialogue and creative excellence.
