Floride Mukabageni (Rwandan, born 1972)
Reconciliation, 2012
Signed ‘M. Floride’ (lower mid-right)
Acrylic on canvas
58 x 50 cm
KES 150,000 – 200,000
(US$) 1,200 – 1,600
Provenance: Private collection
Withdrawn
Floride Mukagabeni is part of the first generation of women to study art in Rwanda and the only one, that survived the 1994 genocide, that is still in practice.
Art was first taught in Rwandan secondary schools in 1952, but only male students were allowed to study it. In 1988, girls were finally allowed into the program and Floride was among the twelve that were admitted. Unfortunately, the genocide began soon after and many students lost their lives. Out of the six female students that survived, only Floride went on to get a formal art education. She is one of only three women whose paintings are in the permanent collection of the Rwanda Art Museum. Her first solo exhibition took place at the Rwanda Art Museum and was notably the first solo exhibition for a female artist since the museum’s inception.
Her work was exhibited at the Zei tgenossische afrikanische Kunst aus Ruanda at Villa Wieser, Herxheim, Germany, in August 2012. The Goethe Institute in Kigali held a retrospective of her work in December 2022. This year her works are on display at several art institutions in Rwanda, including the biennial event Interlude Rwanda at the Rwanda Art Museum.