EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions

Chronicles of a Hopeless Dreamer

2021

CHRONICLES OF A HOPELESS DREAMER, a debut solo exhibition by Teta Chel, took place at Indiba Arts Space in Kigali, in 2021. The show featured a 22 painting created using semi-abstract female imagery to chronicle her personal journey through depression, loneliness, trauma and healing. Through three thematic sections, the exhibition narrated experiences of loss and pain, the struggle of inner turmoil, and a journey toward healing, using art as therapy and a means to spark dialogue about mental health.

Venue: Indiba Arts Space, Kigali

Poetic Love Under Beats and Paintings

Poetic Love Under Beats and Painting is a visual diary of love's cycles. The concept centers on the push and pull toward intimacy, and the recurring loop of obsession, longing, lust, heartbreaks and the returning to self. Between December 2021 and June 2025, Teta Chel explored the many forms of love through unsent love letters, poems and paintings. What began as a private emotional archive evolved into a collection of more than 60 artworks and her in-progress poetry book, Love me, Dear, and Tell me so.

Artworks from this collection have also appeared in group exhibitions, including Fierce Femmes at Gallery Brulhart and Art of Peace at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA).

Phase I

6 May 2022

Venue: Indiba art space, Kigali

Exhibited Works
PLEASURE LUST

PLEASURE LUST

STRANGER

STRANGER

THE FALL

THE FALL

PHANTOM TOUCHES

PHANTOM TOUCHES

UN-QUEENED

UN-QUEENED

Phase II

19 August 2023

Venue: Inshuti Art Gallery, Kigali

Curated by: KAKIZI Jemima

Exhibited Works
SELF PORTRAIT

SELF PORTRAIT

THE FLY ON THE WALL

THE FLY ON THE WALL

LATE NIGHTS

LATE NIGHTS

MOMENT OF SILENCE

MOMENT OF SILENCE

BLISS AND TRAGEDIES

BLISS AND TRAGEDIES

CAMOUFLAGE

CAMOUFLAGE

A SENT LETTER

A SENT LETTER

THE PHASE AND PAUSE

THE PHASE AND PAUSE

SILENT CONVERSATIONS

SILENT CONVERSATIONS

THE GUY FROM A FAR

THE GUY FROM A FAR

CROSSED BOUNDS

CROSSED BOUNDS

LONG NIGHTS

LONG NIGHTS

Phase III

27 June 2025

Venue: Goethe Institute, Kigali

Curated by: Sarah Gantt

Exhibited Works
ECHOES IN MY MIRROR

ECHOES IN MY MIRROR

WILDEST DREAM

WILDEST DREAM

THE LAST NEVER SEND LETTER

THE LAST NEVER SEND LETTER

A SUN SHOWER

A SUN SHOWER

Group Exhibitions

Walk with Me

2023

Walk With Me, curated by Kakizi Jemima, was a three-week group exhibition at L'Espace in Kigali that ran from 7–28 January 2023 and foregrounded conversations about mental health through installation, digital art, photography and painting. The show brought together ten women artists — Odile Uwera, Teta Chel (Chel Teta), Ingride Mukundente, Fabiola U. Rutamu, Natacha Muziramakenga, Ines Ineza, Poupoutte, Christel Arras, Myriam Birara, and Alice Kayibanda — and created a safe, public space for reflection, storytelling and community healing.

Date: 7–28 January 2023

Venue: L'Espace, Kigali

Curated by: Kakizi Jemima

Exhibited Works

BROKEN MEMORIES

BROKEN MEMORIES

HELP ME HELP YOU

HELP ME HELP YOU

Rooted in Africa

2024

Rooted In Africa, which opened 20 January 2024 at The Loft at Liz (Los Angeles) and ran into early March 2024, was a group show curated by Willy Karekezi and Liz Gordon that brought together eight artists from across Africa — including Teta Chel, Mu Elysee, Moses Izabiriza, Niyigena Romeo, Willy Karekezi himself, Enoch Waiswa, Michel Bocandé and Doug Pearsall — to celebrate cultural diversity and dialogue. Through a mix of painting, digital art and mixed media, the exhibition explored themes of identity, heritage, cross-continental connection and shared human experience under the concept "Two People, Two Continents, Two Countries, Two Cultures, Two Genders, Two Generations, Two Races, Two Religions, Two Ideologies." By weaving together voices from different geographies, "Rooted In Africa" offered a vibrant visual conversation bridging continents, cultures and generations.

Date: 20 January 2024 – early March 2024

Venue: The Loft at Liz, Los Angeles

Curated by: Willy Karekezi and Liz Gordon

Exhibited Works

HOME

HOME

DENIAL OF A SOUL

DENIAL OF A SOUL

LES AMOUREUX

LES AMOUREUX

Fierce Femmes

2024

Ferce Femmes, held at Gallery Brulhart in Geneva from 19 April to 4 July 2024, was a landmark exhibition curated by Kakizi Jemima that brought together five Rwandan women artists — Cynthia Butare, Teta Chel, Odile Uwera, Crista Uwase, and Miziguruka. Through photography, painting, digital drawing, collage, and video, the exhibition explored the layered realities of contemporary Rwandan womanhood, highlighting themes of resilience, identity, tradition versus modernity, personal and collective memory, and the transformative cultural role of women. As a collective showcase, "Fierce Femmes" celebrated the strength, creativity, and evolving voices of Rwandan women in the global art landscape.

Date: 19 April – 4 July 2024

Venue: Gallery Brulhart, Geneva

Curated by: Kakizi Jemima

Read more about the exhibition here

Exhibited Works

HOLDING ON

HOLDING ON

STANDING STILL

STANDING STILL

SOUVENIRS

SOUVENIRS

Art of Peace

2024

Art of Peace: Art After War is a thought-provoking exhibition featuring nine artists whose works are shaped by living through the horrors and aftermath of war and conflict. It brings together artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Timor-Leste to explore how visual art addresses trauma and life after conflict. The international artists in the show include Teta Chel, Innocent Nkurunziza, and Cedric Mizero from Rwanda; Bernardino Soares, Inu Bére, and Maria Madeira from Timor-Leste; and Mladen Miljanović, Aida Šehović and Adela Jušić from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The exhibition is part of an Australian Research Council grant project led by Curtin University in partnership with The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA).

Venue: Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA), Perth, Australia

Curated by: Professor Kit Messham-Muir (Curtin University), Robert Cook (AGWA), and Bahar Sayed (independent curator)

Read more about the exhibition here

Exhibited Works

THE PHASE AND PAUSE

THE PHASE AND PAUSE

DENIAL OF THE SOUL

DENIAL OF THE SOUL

HOME

HOME

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS

A SENT LETTER

A SENT LETTER

LES AMOUREUX

LES AMOUREUX