Lucie Kamuswekera

Lucie Kamuswekera (born 1944) is a Congolese textile artist. She is known for her tapestries detailing the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the colonial era through to the present day, with a particular focus on her experiences living in North Kivu, which has experienced significant violence and unrest following the First and Second Congo Wars and the ongoing M23 campaign.

Personal life Kamuswekera was born in Lubero, a town in North Kivu in what was then the Belgian Congo. Under the colonial education system, she was taught embroidery by Italian nuns while attending a convent school. After finishing her secondary education, Kamuswekera trained as a nurse. She moved to Kibirizi, a village near Butembo, after marrying a trader from there; they had five children together.

In 1997, during the First Congo War, Kamuswekera's husband was kidnapped and tortured by soldiers from the National Congress for the Defence of the People while harvesting, who forced him to burn down the family home; he subsequently died of his injuries. Kamuswekera fled with the children, settling in the city of Goma.

Embroidery career Kamuswekera had kept up with embroidery as a hobby, primarily stitching flowers. During the Second Congo War, while she was living in Goma, she saw an army truck carrying the bodies of dead soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kamuswekera later said that "it is when I saw people die, that I began embroidering the history of Congo". She decided to start documenting Congolese history through tapestries, establishing a small shopfront in the Kyeshero area of Goma, attached to the family home.

Kamuswekera's work has spanned modern Congolese history from the colonial era to the present day. Notable events she has stitched include the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961 in La mort de Lumumba; the actions of the Force Publique in Belgian Congo; and the actions of the March 23 Movement in North Kivu.

Recognition Kamuswekera's work was noted by Congolese journalist Benjamin Kasembe, who subsequently published it on the German news website Deutsche Welle. The exhibition was later displayed at Ohio State University's Urban Arts Space in Columbus between September and November 2023.