Kigali has a lively contemporary art scene, with several art centres and creative spaces clustered around Kacyiru, just north of Kimihurura.
While staying in Kimihurura, we put together our own self-guided art walk through the area. We took a moto to Niyo Arts Center and then made our way back on foot, stopping at different art spaces along the way.
Our Kigali Art Walk Route
Optional Starting Point: Impundu Arts Center
We only heard about Impundu Arts Center after doing our art walk, but if we were planning the route again, this is where we’d start. The centre showcases work exclusively by female artists, which sounds well worth a visit.
It’s also close to Niyo Arts Center, where we started our walk, so it’s easy to add without changing the route much.
1. Niyo Arts Center
Niyo Arts Center was where we started our art walk and a great place to begin the morning. The centre is colourful and welcoming, with several rooms filled with work by local artists.
There’s also a nice café, making it a good spot to grab breakfast or a coffee before setting off. Everyone we met here was incredibly friendly, and we spent around 30 minutes looking around before continuing.
2. Inkingi Arts Space
From Niyo, it’s around a 15-minute walk to Inkingi Arts Space.
There’s plenty to browse here, but as with most of the art spaces on this route, how long you spend really depends on what catches your eye. We spent around half an hour at some stops, while others were much quicker visits.
3. MADS Kigali
MADS Kigali doesn’t have the same colourful exterior as some of the other art centres along the route, but don’t let that put you off. Inside, the art is quite different from what we saw elsewhere, with some really distinctive and unusual pieces. We really enjoyed this stop.
It does require a small detour. The road doesn’t continue through towards the next stop, so after visiting MADS you’ll need to retrace your steps for a short distance before continuing the walk.
Optional Stop: Touch of Rwanda
Touch of Rwanda isn’t an art centre, but it’s conveniently located along the route and worth popping into while you’re passing.
There are seamstresses here who can make clothes for you, as well as locally made pieces to browse and buy. If you’re staying in Kigali for a few days, you could also arrange to have something made and return to collect it later.
4. NP Arts Center
Continue towards NP Arts Center, which you’ll find along a dirt road.
It’s another easy stop to add to the route, and you won’t have far to walk afterwards as the next art centre is almost opposite.
5. Ishyuka Arts
Ishyuka Arts is very close to NP Arts Center and was the final art centre we visited on our walk.
We had arrived at Niyo at around 10am and reached Ishyuka at approximately 1:30pm. By this point, after several hours of walking around Kigali in the sun, we were getting seriously hot and decided this was enough art for one day.
6. Inema Arts Center
If you still have the energy, continue along the dirt road towards Inema Arts Center.
We had planned to include Inema in our walk but were simply too hot by this point and decided to skip it. It’s also the only art centre on this route that charges an entrance fee, which apparently includes a coffee.
After Inema, you can jump on a moto back to your accommodation or continue walking towards Kimihurura for lunch or dinner.
How Long Does the Kigali Art Walk Take?
We arrived at Niyo Arts Center at around 10am and finished at Ishyuka at approximately 1:30pm, so the part of the route we walked took us around three and a half hours.
If you add Impundu at the beginning, visit Inema and walk all the way back to Kimihurura, we’d allow around five hours in total. That should give you enough time to look around each art centre, stop for a coffee and walk between them without rushing.
How long you spend at each stop will vary. We spent around 30 minutes at some, while others were quick 10-minute visits.
If you don’t want to visit them all, we’d concentrate on the first half of the route. We found the art more interesting towards the beginning of the walk, so Niyo, Inkingi and MADS would be our picks if you only have a couple of hours.
Tips for Doing the Kigali Art Walk
- Start early. We started at 10am, but we’d recommend going earlier. It gets hot once you reach the middle of the day.
- Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be doing quite a bit of walking, including along some dirt roads.
- Bring water. You’ll definitely want it as the day gets hotter.
- Carry some cash. It’s useful for smaller purchases and for grabbing a moto if you decide you’ve walked enough.
- Don’t feel like you need to complete the whole route. Motos are everywhere, so it’s easy to stop whenever you’ve had enough.
Is Kigali’s Art Walk Worth Doing?
If you’re staying in Kimihurura or Kacyiru, this is an easy way to spend half a day seeing some of Kigali’s independent galleries and creative spaces.
Taking a moto to the furthest point and then walking back means there’s no need to arrange transport between every stop, and most of the galleries are relatively close together. You can follow the whole route, choose just a few galleries or call it a day whenever the heat gets too much and grab a moto back.
We really enjoyed the walk, saw some great art and met genuinely lovely people at every stop along the way. It ended up being a really nice way to spend a morning in Kigali.
