Kassandra Arts Project

Building a Platform of Beauty
-Sara Axelrod

Cassandra Freeman walked into my friend’s NYC apartment with a smile that energized my dry Saturday morning. It was our first meeting. We were part of a group of six women, pulled together by a mutual friend, who wanted to create a space for female collaboration where we could share our art, spill about the men in our lives, eat, laugh, brainstorm, and force each other to be active members of our community. We called it the “Goddess Gatherings.”

That morning, Cassie and I began talking. I talk a lot about ideas, but when I met Cassie; my ideas met someone with a plan of action.

“Being an actor saved my life because it gave me a way to express myself,” Cassie told me. She showed me how acting can be a tool, given to people to help themselves. “I want to open a Performing Arts School in Rwanda’s Peace Village – to give people a stage to release all that fear, resentment, and confusion.”

Cassie is an artist, an actor. In her latest role, she took on the identity of Rose Kabuye, the chief of protocol to President Paul Kagame and Colonel in the Rwanda Patriotic Front. The film, Kinyarwanda, intertwines six story lines that form one narrative of human resilience. In becoming the rose of Rwanda, Cassie saw a country that exemplifies the power of love.

“There is no place like Rwanda,” she told me over a plate of sweet potato fries on MacDougal Street. I had just left my Human Rights, Health, and the Environment class with a cloud of disillusionment hanging over my head. “Rwanda is about forgiveness and reconciliation. But the thing is, Rwanda is not on a platform because of its beautiful history – no, Rwanda is famous because of the word Genocide.”

When I hear “Rwanda,” Genocide does come to mind first. Actually, “Hotel Rwanda” comes to mind first. I’ve seen Rwanda through the lens of Hollywood; Cassie has seen Rwanda in person, and helped me to see it as it is. Cassie saw the post-conflict potential in Rwanda, and convinced me that the space has to be filled with an effort whereby the people of Rwanda reclaim their identity, examine their historical roots, and find dignity and pride in their self. Cassie saw this effort. “Rwanda should stand on a platform – one that shows its beauty.”

In Kigali, Rwanda, Cassie spent time in the “Peace Village.” Through teaching acting to orphans, she saw her art as a window to self-expression. “I had a group of about sixty young girls stand in a circle. One girl volunteered to stand in the middle. I told her, ‘Pretend you are the president of Rwanda.’” Cassie’s face illuminated. “The girl was shy, but as she got into the role, I watched her posture change — it was like her whole body opened up.”

“A Performing Arts School in Kigali would allow children to discover and create their own identity.” That’s Cassie’s idea, the plan of action. Cassie wants to start a performing arts school in Kigali where children can have access to the tools and the encouragement that allows self-expression.

“What do you think happened to that girl after she left the middle of the circle?” Cassie asked me. I pictured a seed growing into a Rose, and then wilting. “She closed back up — minutes after the exercise. It was like she shrank.” She left the president of Rwanda in the center of the circle, and turned to stand on the periphery.

But what if Cassie could build this school in Rwanda and fill it with children and tap shoes, musical instruments, and books? I was excited, but my pragmatism made me skeptical. I had questions: “We’ve been talking top-down. Bottom-up, things get more complicated. We need money. We need to be practical; where do we start? Instruments, ballet shoes, sheet music – we could get all that through donations. Like, if we sent letters to every University in the States. What about resources for building? Architects? A faculty of teachers – from Rwanda? A stage.” I could have continued. Cassie responded simply, “We just need a home. That’s the first step.”

Cassie is in the middle stage – the plan is not a luminous, distant star. She worked with other organizations in Rwanda: the “Peace and Love Proclaimers” in the Peace Village, “Camp GLOW” (Girls Leading our World), and the Ms. Rwandan contestants of Rwanda’s first pageant since the genocide. She had the unique opportunity to meet Rwandan President Paul Kygame and former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair. More convincing than any connections, she has a will that is genuine. She wants a building for this school. She went to Rwanda, used acting to interact with children there, and saw its immediate impact. But she wants to make this impact long term.

The School is a seed, but the roots must grow within Rwanda. The arts are water that feeds a culture with storytelling, creating, and sharing. Cassie can offer a seed and we can help plant it; but the people of Rwanda must supervise the growth of institutions that inspire pride in their roots. The goal is for everyone to see the flower that grows.

I met Cassie in the middle stage with a beginner’s perspective. But the more we talk, the less luminous and distant is this vision. We need your help.

Click on the pictures below or scroll down for videos!

Cassie Freeman from cassie freeman on Vimeo.

KINYARWANDA Extended Trailer from Alrick Brown on Vimeo.