Using handmade needles and thread, Lucie Kamusekera has recorded the decades of conflict she has lived through in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 82-year-old artist, who hides at home when rebel offensives strike, stitches scenes of contemporary history onto cloth sacks, creating a unique archive of violence and upheaval.
A Life Shaped by War
Born in 1944 in Lubero, North Kivu, Kamusekera was taught to sew by Italian nuns at her convent school. She began by designing flowers and gifts for neighbors, but her craft evolved into a response to the chaos around her. Now, with needles fashioned from scrap metal, she has produced over 70 pieces depicting events like the 1961 murder of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and the brutal Belgian colonial era.
“There has been so much suffering in Congo that I can’t remember which battle forced us to finally leave,” she says. After marrying a trader, she moved to his village of Kibirizi, but conflict forced the family to flee to Goma over 20 years ago. It was there that she began to embroider contemporary events, inspired by a military truck full of corpses.
Family and Legacy
Kamusekera’s family now helps in her studio. Her great-granddaughter, Divine Kyetia, assists with drafts and client negotiations. “My children all grew up watching me work,” she says. “They need to know my style; I may die tomorrow, and I would like them to continue.” The M23 rebel offensive in early 2025 limited her work, as she fears for her life if she publishes certain realities.
Despite the risks, Kamusekera refuses to leave Goma. “I imagine a world where social media is gone, but the stories will remain on the tapestries,” she says. Peace processes have yielded little, but she remains determined: “The next generation must learn the history of Congo. These works will be my legacy.”
