Rwanda Art Museum — Attraction in Kigali City

I recently visited the Rwanda Art Museum, formerly known as the Presidential Palace Museum, in Kanombe, near Kigali Airport. The museum, built between 1976 and 1980, was once the residence of two presidents between 1980 and 2000, offers a unique glimpse into Rwanda's history and culture.

The ground floor exhibition, which featured old pictures from the early colonial period, was a highlight of my visit. The photographs showcased various aspects of life in Rwanda, including fashion, music, social life, and architecture. I was particularly fascinated by the rare color footage from the 1950s movie "King Solomon's Mines," which was shot on location in Rwanda. It's a shame that this exhibition is only temporary, as it provides a valuable insight into Rwandan culture.

The top floor of the house is dedicated to contemporary art, but unfortunately, the pieces are not curated or accompanied by explanations, which made it difficult to appreciate their significance.

The house itself is impressive, and it's interesting to see what a presidential palace looked like. The gardens are also beautiful, and visitors can explore them at their leisure. For an additional fee, you can visit the closed-off area where the remains of President Habyarimana's aircraft are preserved. Although there's not much to see except for a few plane parts, it's still a poignant reminder of the country's turbulent past.

What made my visit truly enjoyable was our knowledgeable guide, who shared many stories about the house and Rwanda's history. The guide's expertise added a rich layer of context to the museum, making the experience even more memorable.

Overall, I would recommend visiting the Rwanda Art Museum, especially for its unique exhibitions and historical significance. While some areas of the museum may be lacking in curation or context, the guides are excellent, and the house itself is worth exploring.

Tips: Be sure to check the exhibition schedule, as the ground floor exhibition is temporary. Consider paying the extra fee to visit the aircraft wreckage, but be aware that it's not an extensive exhibit. Take your time to explore the gardens and the house, and don't hesitate to ask your guide questions.

I hope this review helps, and I look forward to seeing more exhibitions and improvements at the Rwanda Art Museum...

Interesting visit and approach here, the reception staff will guide you through the entire indoor visit. She has asked the question though so you can get guidance or go on your own. I thought it was interesting to have the guide, some of the insight in Rwandan culture was basic while there is so much more to tell so they can increase the learning process especially for first time visitors to Rwanda. The art work is of an interesting diversity yet rather limited in expo still.

Definitely interesting to see (at least we can imagine a bit) how the presidents used to live there in a massive house with many facilities and in-house decorations ( and that about 40 y ago and earlier).

The 2000 fr extra are worth it to see the parts of the plane that was shot down in 1994 ( who doesn't remember this news), half of them are still in the original spot, the others were moved to that closed section.

Interesting thing to observe are the tennis field and open space used for fighting sports coaching, the swimming pool has not been restored which could be a nice extra for the...

Sadly, this place underwhelms immensely. The art isn’t curated in any coherent way and a lot of it is from the same artist. There is no information about the palace - no plaque or wall with basic information on who built it, who lived there, it’s purpose etc. Not one picture of what it used to look like on the inside (it’s been gutted of everything original but the floors and walls). The plane crash pieces are spread around a walled garden. Again, no information is provided - no wall about when the crash was, who was in the plane, what the investigation found, how it fits into the story of genocide, any pictures of the plane, etc. Huge opportunity for excellent historical and tourist attraction completely wasted. Far from city center. The woman at reception took us on a tour and she was lovely, but the entire experience lacked real information about Rwandan art, the presidential palace, and the plane crash. Save your money...