dyton mupawaenda
Mutsawashe Mashandure-Youth Interactive Writer
Emmanuel Kamangira is a 21-year-old budding artist who just improved his technical drawing at the Zimbabwe Art National Gallery last year.
This young man was raised in Mutare; his mother passed away, and he lived with various family members.
He then lived in Chipinge for three years after both his parents had died and stayed there.
When he was in Form 1, he came back to Harare.
He started showing interest in drawing at the age of five. He would draw anywhere, on the walls, the precast wall, and on any paper he could find.
One can imagine walls full of scribbled pictures everywhere. When kids are young, they can just write anything wherever they see a space that they can reach.
During an interview with the Youth Interactive Section, Emmanuel said he can draw using a pencil and pen.
The most interesting thing is that he taught himself to draw, and his inspiration comes from his family background.
“I spent most of my time sketching; usually, my drawings explain the challenges that I faced in my life, and my life was hard.
His passion for drawing started when he started holding a pencil at a crèche.
Some of Emmanuel’s works.
“I spent most of my time sketching. Following that, I was residing with my aunt. When I was in fifth grade at Gaza Primary School, I began to realise how much I enjoyed drawing. My teacher informed my mother that I was always concentrating more on drawing than schoolwork because I was drawing at the back of the book.
One of his family members advised him to stop drawing and concentrate on schoolwork.
“I stopped drawing for three years between grades six, seven, and form one.”
In Form 2, he resumed drawing due to the implementation of a new curriculum that focused on the arts. His family members were unaware that he had resumed drawing.
Emmanuel stayed with other family members in Harare, and they welcomed him into their home and encouraged the boy to keep drawing.
Emmanuel started art lessons at the Art National Gallery while was in form four, to improve his art technical skills, and he started creating several images.
“I met individuals from the Ministry of Youth Arts and Recreation while I promised to work with them,” he added.
“I was invited to the Africa Arts Festival, and Cynthia Mapondo, a ZBC presenter, called me for an interview on the YG T show,’ he said.
Emmanuel was then called to the Pocket Red Carpet awards ceremony, and he drew Natasha Moz, who was a guest artist.
This year the Ministry of Youth Arts and Recreation invited him to attend an agriculture show, and he showcased his drawings of portraits that depicted his upbringing in difficult circumstances and used his images.
Emmanuel said whenever he was bored at home, he began to draw images that depicted his upbringing in difficult circumstances.
“The portrait with the girl crying represents child abuse. As you can see, she is holding a pencil and drawing. It shows that children go through a lot in their homes, but they will be afraid to speak out. The drawing speaks for all the children going through child abuse,” he said.
Emmanuel said his drawings help him to recognise his creative spark and makes the connection from real-life events to artistic creation.
“The portrait with the one with a bee — it’s called the bee in our eyes — defines the beauty that is seen through our eyes and our vision to see vibrant colours in our everyday lives,” he added.
The boy advised the young that they should never give up on chasing their dreams, no matter how they are criticised; they should always believe in themselves and have confidence in everything they do.
He wants to portray a message and not scare people, but of course to tell people how he is feeling at a particular time.
Most importantly, he values his internal validation rather than performing in hopes of gaining the approval of others.
Online Reporter