Everyone Should Visit this Place at Least Once: A Review

During my time in Kigali, Rwanda, I met very many interesting people. The city is alive with interesting art projects and exciting things to do for art enthusiasts. One of the places that became a regular feature on my calendar, were the open mics organised at the creative space, Root House.

Root House is a relaxed space for performers, musicians and poets of all kinds to gather around a fire like back in the day, share their art and meet other artists and interesting people. The aim is to build a community of creative and inspired collaborators. A great space to have a couple of beers with some friends, hangout and jam out (or just watch). Root House, which also houses a few artists and gives back to the community through it's profits, from the outside may seem like a few uninspired beings coming together to cause trouble. But if trouble is what you are looking for, then maybe you need to look elsewhere.

What I found I found at Root House, was a community of interesting people such as Ugandan Afro-Soul singer/song writer Apio Moro. I had the pleasure to jam with one of Root House's regulars while shooting a casual video for my poem, The Poetic High. Moyise, captured there playing the guitar while I dance along, is an amazing artist and one of the people I will forever remember as part of my experience in Root House and Rwanda. His vocal abilities and love for music are beyond evident. He does this thing with his voice where he produces random sounds and creates music in inspiring ways. Wow, just wow. It is definitely something you do not forget so easily.

I commend Eric Soul, who has worked in many spheres of art as a DJ, TV presenter, events promoter and much more around the world, for his efforts to create such a space and all the people involved in the project. If I ever get a chance to go back to the wonderful city of Kigali (let this student budget not hold me back) revisiting Root House will definitely be top of the list of things to do!