HIGHLIGHT: Odile Katese

Former deputy director of the University Centre for Arts and Drama of the National University of Rwanda (2003 – 2010), Odile is a Rwandan actor, director, writer and cultural entrepreneur. Currently, she is the artistic director of Ingoma Nshya – Women Initiatives in Butare. Odile studied theatre in Paris at Ecole Internationale de Théâtre... read more

Rwanda Professional Dreamers (RPD) is a space created in the effort of putting together strength, skills and strategies in order to initiate, promote and support innovative, challenging and creative artistic work in Rwanda.

Rwanda Professional Dreamers aspires to be a unique and safe space where Rwandan artists dare to invent, propose and implement new, inventive and essential artistic and cultural projects.

Objectives

The objectives of Rwanda Professional Dreamers (RPD) are the following:

1. To cultivate and promote a culture of joy and happiness,

2. To initiate, encourage and implement pioneering and inspiring artistic work;

3. To set up a safe and secure environment for original ideas and dreams to grow;

4. To root the development of the Rwandan society in its cultural values;

5. To build a rich and strong artistic network inside and outside Rwanda;

6. To constitute archives for the cultural and artistic life of Rwanda

From my Art to your Heart...

Rwanda Professional Dreamers is highly concerned by the health of the soul and spirit of Rwandan people. It is easy, most of the time, to testify the terrible effects caused by wars or disasters. People can see destroyed infrastructures i.e. buildings, cars, shops, houses, roads... But it is very hard to visualize and imagine ruined hearts and souls. That is why the importance of cultural and artistic initiatives in post-conflict societies is very crucial.

Rwanda Professional Dreamers believes that through artistic events, opportunities are offered to people who have experienced conflicts and despair to regain and to rebuild hope, joy, faith, self-confidence, liberty, dignity...

As most of conflicts are nourished by a culture of division, exclusion, fear, insecurity, suspicion, animosity, misunderstanding, ignorance, clichés… Rwanda Professional Dreams is committed to promote a culture of joy and happiness through activities and event that feed and safeguard our humanity so that in critical situation, human beings’are strong enough to behave as human beings.

And for Rwanda Professional Dreamers, it is really imperative to act before and not always after. Because, even if we rebuild things; unfortunately, we never rewrite the history. We never fill the emptiness. We never undo things...