Francis Shok Mweze, from Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, came to Bloomington for the Mandela Washington Fellowship at Indiana University this summer. He is the founder and a creative director of Sighted Design and has more than four years of experience in graphic design and photography. Mweze, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration studies with specializations in finance and banking, is committed to showing youth that a career can be built from passion and not only from what they choose as an academic track.
![(left) Mweze sits with Mandela Washington Fellow Eastina Taylor during an event at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. (right) Mweze says there were 24 other Fellows from 20 different countries. | Limestone Post](https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Francis2Copy.jpg)
(left) Mweze sits with Mandela Washington Fellow Eastina Taylor during an event at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. (right) Mweze says there were 24 other Fellows from 20 different countries. | Limestone Post
Since completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Mweze has continued with his creative work and aspires to have his hometown become a visual arts capital in the region and promote its touristic sites.
Read on for a Q&A with Mweze and for photos of his time spent in Bloomington.
About the Mandela Washington Fellowship
LP: Your bio for the Mandela Washington Fellowship says you plan to continue your creative work and aspire to have your hometown become a visual arts capital in the region. What were you hoping to accomplish through the Mandela Washington Fellowship program?
Francis: When I applied for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, I hoped to gain the overseas knowledge and way of doing things because, from when I started working into this creative field, I wanted my work to be like what I see from overseas artists.
![(left to right) The Hoagy Carmichael statue by IU Cinema, Showalter Plaza and IU Auditorium, and the Alexander Memorial monument on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn. | Photos by Francis Shok Mweze](https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Francis3.jpg)
(left to right) The Hoagy Carmichael statue by IU Cinema, Showalter Plaza and IU Auditorium, and the Alexander Memorial monument on the Monroe County Courthouse lawn. | Photos by Francis Shok Mweze
LP: What did you learn from the other Mandela Washington fellows?
Francis: I really learned a lot from them. They were 24 amazing people from 20 different countries. When I was placed in the Civic Leadership [track], I thought it was a mistake, for I applied for Business and Entrepreneurship track, but with them I understood that it was a way of extending my knowledge to do what I already do in a “shy” way: giving back to my community.
LP: How do programs like this help you in your pursuits back home?
Francis: Programs like this provide me some extra knowledge, experience, and networking that I’m sure will help me in the near future even back home.
About your hometown
LP: What is your hometown and can you describe it to us?
Francis: Bukavu, South Kivu. That’s my hometown. It’s a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and bordered by the Lake Kivu. I suggest you to follow @BukavuExplorer on social media for more of my city.
![(left to right) Showalter Fountain on the IU campus, Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Kirkwood Avenue, and IU’s Maxwell Hall | Photos by Francis Shok Mweze](https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Francis4.jpg)
(left to right) Showalter Fountain on the IU campus, Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Kirkwood Avenue, and IU’s Maxwell Hall | Photos by Francis Shok Mweze
LP: How do you plan to make it a visual arts capital?
Francis: Back in time, in my hometown, good photographs or designs were assumed to be provided by East African big cities only. But I went through those cities and learned from them, now I even have Indiana as a plus. And I want, in five or ten years, to have people from those cities talk about my city as a visual art resource. For that I’m planning to get, as many as possible, trainings for young talented guys in the creative field who share the same vision.
LP: Did you learn anything from Bloomington that will help with that?
![Mweze says this photo of Hickory Hall, part of Indiana University's Union Street on-campus apartments, captures his 'Limestone, Blues & Greens' photo series theme. | Photo by Francis Shok Mweze](https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Francis6.jpg)
Mweze says this photo of Hickory Hall, part of Indiana University’s Union Street on-campus apartments, captures his ‘Limestone, Blues & Greens’ photo series theme. | Photo by Francis Shok Mweze
Francis: Instead of getting a technical skill for that, I learned at Indiana University how to seek people sharing the same vision as you to support the cause you’re advocating for.
About Bloomington
LP: What were your impressions of Bloomington?
Francis: It was a welcoming and not a busy city (perfect for me).
LP: Did anything surprise you?
Francis: What surprised me is the way IU is everywhere, the city is IU-branded. I had never seen that before.
LP: Was there anything in particular that you found pleasing?
Francis: People with disability and visually impaired are safe in B-town: Braille even on zebra crosslines [crosswalks]. Wheelchair access everywhere!!!
LP: What was the most memorable part of Bloomington?
Francis: I may sound weird, but I miss Kroger.
!['The Sunrise, the Bus and the Library (#4).' | Photo by Francis Shok Mweze](https://www.limestonepostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Francis5.jpg)
‘The Sunrise, the Bus and the Library (#4).’ | Photo by Francis Shok Mweze
LP: Did you see or experience anything in Bloomington that will help you with your career aspirations?
Francis: I met with Visit Bloomington. I saw where I wanted my Bukavu Explorer project to be within the five years.
LP: What is the biggest difference between Bloomington and your hometown?
Francis: Bloomington is way cleaner than my hometown. We have no such big university in my hometown too.
LP: What are the similarities?
Francis: They’re all small towns.
About your photos
LP: Most of your photos include limestone. Can you tell us about your interest in limestone?
Francis: Limestone is the icon of Bloomington, and I was so amazed how it was used on the buildings there, especially on the IU [Herman B Wells] Library.
LP: Which of the photos we’ve selected is your favorite? Why?
Francis: The Sunrise, the Bus and the Library (#4). The HW Library was my favorite landmark in Bloomington and I was happy after a morning gym session I got a sunrise with a bus because it was summarizing my mornings in a picture. Also #23. It pictures perfectly the theme of these photos. The drive for all the photos I took were “Limestone, Blues & Greens,” and I was once looking at the Hickory IU dorms [Hickory Hall, located in Union Street on-campus apartments] like that at one noon break when I decided to take that as theme for my Bloomington photos.
LP: Why did you choose these subjects to photograph?
Francis: They describe the best [of] my stay in Bloomington.