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Stephen Garan’anga Visual Art
Art exhibitions with awards possess a powerful magnetic force which unleashes the mighty creative force within artists.
Though at times the artists seem retracted because of the lack of platforms, their highly creative abilities are let loose when open calls for participation in art competitions and exhibitions are availed.
This was the scenario when Gallery Delta Foundation for Art and the Humanities announced the platform for a competition and select exhibition of paintings, graphics and mixed media sculptures under the theme “Migration”.
The response was overwhelming with numerous artworks by a few established artists, then the majority who were the young and upcoming as well as the aspiring practitioners based chiefly in Harare.
Remarkable paintings and mixed media sculptures dominated the fewer graphics and depict local artists’ reading of the “Migration” theme which is currently topical the world over.
The migration whether legal or illegal has proven problematic and is likely to persist for long as wars, conflicts, failed economies and hunger continue to wreak havoc in various parts of the universe.
The artists’ work reflect the intimate knowledge they have regarding the inflicted migration caused by xenophobia attacks in our neighbouring South Africa, the daily perishing of people from North Africa and the Middle East in high seas trying to enter Europe and the commotion in countries where the migrants are attempting to enter.
The exhibition and its awards were once again sponsored by the Embassy of Switzerland in Zimbabwe as they have done numerously before to Gallery Delta’s shows in these times of need.
The exhibition was officially opened by Luciano Lavizzari, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Zimbabwe, and he said he was pleased to support and sponsor the organisation and the presentation of the exhibition.
Lovemore Kambudzi, an established painter who has won several national awards before with vast international experience was rewarded with the first prize for the painting category for his huge oil on canvas titled “The Border Post”. The second went to Munyaradzi Mugorosa for his fairly sized ‘Stowaway’ mixed media on canvas and the third was rewarded to Fred Tauro’s three part triptych-mixed media on canvas titled “The Trees of the Traveller”.
The graphics category saw upcoming Option Nyahunzvi being reward with the ultimate for his huge colourful card print titled “Homeless Migrants”. “Migrants on their journey” card print got Franklin Dzingai the second prize whilst the ink drawing “Nyami-nyami the Migrant” got Evans Tinashe the third.
The mixed media sculptural work category had young lady Kresiah Mukwazhi with a respectable reputation and accolades in photography scooping the first prize with her textile “Kotamai Boutique”, whilst illustrious weaving man Johnson Zuze got the second for his encaged found objects titled “Apocalypse” and Wallen Mapondera walked away with the final for his cardboard and acrylic (triptych) titled “Makwerekwere a,b,c”.
There were special mentioning by the judges of Tafadzwa Marekera’s mixed media sculpture titled “Migratory Fish”, Tatanda Zangira’s mixed media painting titled “Herod’s Act of Anger” and Victor Nyakauru’s “Hopeful Migrants” in mixed media sculpture.
The adjudicators of the work for the exhibition who included established artists Helen Lieros, Cosmas Shiridzinomwa, Arthur Azevedo, Masimba Hwati and Derek Huggins commented that it was commendable to have artists at various career levels working under one theme expressing their thoughts in various media.
They said the show reflected extreme desperation from the portrayed subjects of hundreds of thousands of the traumatised braving enraging waters of the Mediterranean and the Limpopo to face uncertainty.
The desperation of Europe for not being able to cope with the huge influx of migrants from war tone nations and accompanying humanitarian crisis to the desperation of local artists in various circumstances who queued at the Gallery well into the evening of the admission day, to have their work shown.
The exhibition is on until early November 2015 at 110 Livingston Avenue in Harare.
Online Reporter