Jean Bosco Bakunzi was born and raised in Kigali, Rwanda in 1985. Growing up he enjoyed sketching with pincers and pastel colors. He was then introduced to a group of local artist painters where he discovered a great interest in acrylic and oil paints. He sees painting as a special medium that allows him to explore ideas, creativity and emotions while enjoying the free movement of his tools. In choosing his subjects, he finds inspirations in nature, his surroundings and every day life.
When he lost his parents to the 1994 genocide, he lived in an orphanage for two years. There he created craft projects with a volunteer from France as his first piece into the world of art. While at the orphanage he would use pen and pastels to make cartoons to express himself. Following all the tragedies he has lived through, he believes that art has the power to heal people. As a result, he founded the Uburanga Arts Studio to contribute to the development of Rwanda’s fine art scene.
As a result of this initiative, Bakunzi teaches art twice a week to the children who live at the same orphanage he lived at for two years. He uses art to help the children deal with emotions and express themselves. Additionally, he teaches young people at Gisimba Memorial Center under a project called Imena Art for Kids.
Bakunzi also creates amusing whimsical portraits using pockets from pants for faces, and then cloth, bottle caps, nails, and wire for the details. His paintings stand out because of the originality of materials and techniques used.
One of his largest paintings, Women in the Market, portrays women at the market with baskets and vegetables. He has beautifully abstracted their forms behind a grid of white lines that he created by placing the canvas on the floor with strings stretched taught across it. Bakunzi elevates market women to noble figures at the core of Rwandan society. This plays into changing how women and the work they do are seen in society. He has exhibited in the USA, Germany, Kenya and Tanzania.
