We share this update with pride for AR-Alumnus Ruhangara Bazamuka Alain, known as Brown Messia, who completed his residency at the Zanzibar Arts and Education Foundation (ZAEF) in 2025.
Since returning to Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alain tells us that he has been living and working under conditions that would have stopped many others. M23 and Rwandan forces captured Bukavu in February 2025 and remain in control of the city and surrounding areas. And still, he chose to create. With almost no resources to work with, he organized the Kwasa Kwasa Urban Dance Battle at Espace Culturel Kwetu Art, bringing together performers from Bukavu and surrounding areas across four disciplines Afro Dance, Hip-Hop, Krump, and Break Dance with a small cash prize for each category’s champion.
Alain says that the event revealed an entire generation of young dancers, full of talent and discipline, with almost nowhere to go. Their hunger for a stage, for recognition, for a future in art, is real but so is the fragility of everything that made this one battle possible.
To try to change that, Alain has founded SAUTI YA MWILI ART FOUNDATION, an accessible platform meant to give this youth something steadier to hold onto rather than a single night of performance in a context that offers very little safety net for artists.
Alain and the young people around him are carrying something fragile and important, largely alone. We invite the international arts community to follow this journey, lend support, and help Sauti Ya Mwili (@sauti_ya_mwili_art_foundation) reach the young artists who need it most.
We are excited to continue following Alain’s journey and to see the new works and initiatives that will grow from his resilience and dedication.
Read Bazamuka’s biography on our website at this link: https://artistsatrisk.org/2026/03/02/ar-resident-alain-bazamuka/
Warm thanks for the Swedish Arts Council’s Programme for Artistic Freedom for funding this residency.
