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Lovemore Meya : Arts Correspondent
The fifth edition of the Wild Geese Arts Festival that took place last Saturday had arts enthusiasts spoilt for choice with more than 200 artists exhibiting their talent. From around 10am, hordes of people made their way to the exhibition as artists had already decorated the scenic environment in Pomona with their exquisite pieces.Another attraction of the day was the booming sound courtesy of music group, Evicted, that kept the crowd entertained throughout the exhibition.
Around midday art lovers were hopping from one artist to the next, getting intimate discussions about the pieces or buying the art.
Those who attended the festive can attest to the fact that the country boasts of raw talent in the form of painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and ceramic artists.
Things started heating up with an announcement for the competition and people dashed to encircle the stage to see who had proved to be the cut above the rest.
This year it seems like the heavens smiled for artists from Chitungwiza as 20-year-old Takudzwa Guzhu and Johnson Zuze (31) from that city scooped ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Most Unusual Work’ awards.
Guzhu had a piece called “Ndaguna Kwe” while Zuze had “Healthy is Wealthy”.
Joe Chinamora took the ‘Best Work on Show’ for his piece titled “Prayer”, with Evans Mutenga (29) of Village Unhu taking the ‘Best Painting’ prize for “Brothel Maiden” while Bulawayo-based Israel Israel was voted ‘Best Sculptor’ for his mastery on “Guitarist”.
In an interview, Guzhu could not hide his joy.
“This is wonderful. I never expected to emerge the winner and I am very happy,” said Guzhu.
“Someone advised me to submit one of my works and I was surprised to hear my name being called as a winner. This is inspiring and has pushed me to work harder for the upcoming exhibitions.”
It was the same for Mutenga, a visual and graphic artist.
“This is my first time to exhibit. I have been in art for six years. It shows that I have a good future ahead of me,” said Mutenga.
After the prize-giving ceremony, people were treated to an art demonstration where 18 artists took part in a 15-minute work to draw anything on the theme “Transport or Happiness”.
Event organiser, Leslie Johnson, who was also taking part in the exhibition, encouraged artistes to come up with bigger pieces next year.
“What I want to stress is that this is an art exhibition, not a craft fair. Some artistes have smaller works, but should bring one or two bigger pieces that can be quick sellers,” said Johnson.
“This is our fifth year and has around 200 artistes from all over Zimbabwe. We started off with 120 artists. This event has been helpful to artistes who are appreciative of what we do since it gives them an opportunity to interact with the public.
“They can make their own sales and pay 10 percent of what they sell. It has also opened up a whole different emphasis on art.”
Online Reporter