Jacques Nkinzingabo - Streetphotographer from Rwanda

At the invitation of the Dean of the Design Department, Dr. Matthias Sieveke, the Campus of Art and Design welcomed street photographer Jacques Nkinzingabo from Rwanda for a four-week interdisciplinary guest lectureship in the summer semester of 2023.

As a native of Kigali, Mr. Nkinzingabo continues to reside and create in the heart of Rwanda‘s capital city. He is a self-taught photographer and visual storyteller, with a particular specialization in documentary photography. His photographic work focuses on themes such as cultural diversity, preserving memories, migration, identity, as well as social issues. In addition to his artistic work, Mr. Nkinzingabo is co-founder of the RwandaArt Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting Rwanda‘s photography and art community.

Jacques Nkinzingabo‘s creative and culturally informed perspectives on everyday public spaces in Trier provided a profound learning experience for the students. Jacques Nkinzingabo raised important questions such as: ”Which people contribute to the daily care of the city‘s architecture, such as the cathedral, the Porta Nigra, or the abandoned Treveris Passage? How do the inhabitants of Trier use their public urban space”? The SDG‘s: Global Partnership, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Reduced Inequalities, Quality Education Worldwide, and Health and Well-Being played an orienting role. The course focused on excursions through the city of Trier. In the process, the students photographically investigated and documented the interaction of people and their use of public spaces. Together with the students, Mr. Nkinzingabo curated the results of these photographic explorations. The compiled works were presented alongside other works at the “Werkschau” of the Design Department at the European Academy of Art on 10/26-23. On this occasion, Jacques Nkinzingabo returned to the Campus of Art and Design to celebrate the exhibition‘s opening with the students.