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Wayne Chiridza, Showbiz Reporter
NORWAY-based songstress and True Love hit maker, Busi Ncube toured the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo yesterday afternoon as she familiarised with the roots arts that nurtured her.
After a closed-door meeting with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Bulawayo regional director Butholezwe Nyathi, Busi was taken on a tour of the gallery, being shown the places that needed to be repaired.
During the tour the musician said the gallery is the face of the city thus needs to be safely guarded for future generations.
“It’s a cultural place and it’s a historic building. We can’t just let it fall. It’s a monumental building and imagine if it fell down. The whole face of the city would change. Then what would we have? Nothing,” said Busi.
“We want our children to come here. We have to have a history. When we were born, we found these buildings they were there. Things have to be kept; we can’t erase this because there’s no people without a history.”
The gallery building has cracks which need to be fixed. It also needs to be repainted.
Nyathi said there was urgent need to repair the building.
“The building is 118 years old, so there’s an urgent need for structural intervention in terms of repair of the leaking roof, damaged sections of the ceiling, filling of cracked walls and painting of the whole gallery.”
Busi later performed at the same venue at a show in the evening meant to raise funds for the facelift of the building. Entry into the concert was through a donation in cash or kind.
Busi’s tour and subsequent performance are part of efforts by the gallery’s leadership to engage corporates, government and prominent artistes in raising awareness about the need for the building to be repaired. — @waynecas.
Online Reporter