Genocide, Memory, and the Arts: Memorial Projects in Rwanda of ‘Upright Men’ and ‘The Garden of Memory’

Abstract

Politically-engaged artist Bruce Clarke discusses his commemorative and memorial projects ‘Upright Men’ and ‘The Garden of Memory.’ Produced in Rwanda in the years following the Tutsi genocide, they are part of a long reflection on the role art can play in a commemorative historical process, with the condition that it arises from an informed position. Along with producing memorial spaces, the intention is to redefine the role of art as a historical discipline by situating the genocide in Rwanda into the public arena, both at home and around the world, so that it cannot be ignored. For Clarke, art is a tool for raising consciousness around this major historical event so often misrepresented in the West and at times subjected to denial theories.