Cultural Entrepreneurship Role In Sustaining Artists In Africa An Ethnographic Study Of The Art Sector In Rwanda

In numerous developing countries, culture and art are not attributed priority, despite their riches and potential. In many African countries thus, the cultural sector suffers insensitively. In Europe, the cultural entrepreneur is often seen as a solution to all challenges. The question, however, is how this western concept is perceived in other cultures.This ethnographic study explores the culturally bounded perception of Rwandan creative on the most crucial challenges artists face and the role of cultural entrepreneurship in the country. The paper compares western theoretical knowledge of entrepreneurship with a practical African understanding of acting entrepreneurial.In-depth interviews were locally conducted with artists and directors from various art fields to straighten out their cultural perception of the current art sector and their relationship to entrepreneurship.From the findings to why Rwandan artists under-perform on the market, it was ascertained that the society mainly suffers from a lack of awareness and appreciation for the potential role of culture and arts in sustaining economic and social development. The concept of the cultural entrepreneur is perceived in Rwanda as a collective person who contributes to the good of the art sector. Even though the role and skills are culturally shaped, the basic concept of entrepreneurship displayed a variety of resemblances to the western type. This offers certification on a universal concept as well as the universal traits of cultural entrepreneurship. This paper demonstrates that it is the fundamental characteristic of the entrepreneur and not its detailed capacities, which make a substantial impact. This thesis provides a primary stepping stone to investigate whether entrepreneurship, in fact, can be a key success for cultural sectors in developing countries.