How a US exchange programme inspired the NGZ director

SILENKOSI MOYO, the Regional Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Bulawayo, returned from a three-week US Embassy-Zimbabwe International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) with new insights and ideas for the local art scene. The IVLP is the US Department of State’s premier professional exchange programme that connects current and emerging foreign leaders in various fields with their American counterparts.

Moyo visited five US cities from November 25 to December 15, where she met with art professionals and learned about different aspects of the American art industry. She was impressed by the diversity and creativity of the US art scene and the role of art in social change.

“For me, what stood out was the expansion of possibilities and how social change through the arts can make a huge difference to the challenges we are facing as a community and as a people. I saw the levels to which art can be such a potent catalyst for positive transformation and the expression of the realities of lived experiences,” she said.

Moyo also realised the importance of community support and audience development for the art sector. She said that art practitioners should treat their art as a business and invest time and energy in strategic audience building.

“Art can only thrive if it has holistic support from its community. Our art ecosystem should and must function with support from local audiences. In turn arts practitioners must approach their art as a business and invest time and energy in strategic audience building,” she said.

Moyo was inspired by the opportunities for collaboration and exchange that she encountered during the IVLP. She said that she was eager to share her experience with her colleagues in the visual arts and the wider art sector in Zimbabwe and to explore ways to improve the quality and impact of their work.

“There are opportunities that are available for collaboration and exchange. To elevate our industry cannot be a one-man show, or go it alone, we need to collaborate. We need to constructively engage even critically to improve the quality of our product. So I’m really looking forward to engaging with my colleagues in the visual arts and the wider art sector to see what strategies we can implement to uplift our communities through the arts based on my recent experience under the IVLP programme,” she said.

The NGZ is a national repository for artefacts and diverse works of art. Moyo said that she believed that Zimbabwe had a lot to learn from and offer to the international art scene. She said that the exchange of ideas was crucial for the success of the local art industry.

“Since contexts are different it’s hard to decide on what parity will look like. What’s important I think for our industry as in any aspect of life is to continuously be growing and learning from others. We have a lot to learn from international galleries and we have a lot to share with them. In the exchange of ideas lies the seed of the success of our local art industry,” she said.

Moyo said that her three-week stay in the US opened her eyes and debunked some myths that have been associated with America. She said she enjoyed living the “American Dream” and appreciated the hospitality and diversity of the American people.

“We were briefed before we left on what to expect when we got there. The States is very multicultural so one needs to be sensitive to those things as you interact with others, having said that though it’s also inspiring how tolerant everyone is of those who may be different from them. Their multi-culturalism acknowledges and celebrates the differences between cultures, races and ethnicities especially those of minority groups within a dominant political culture. I found that to be inspiring.

“The programme was packed with scheduled activities, no two days were the same. Throughout the cities that we toured we would have the opportunity to engage with different leaders in the arts from academics to artists, administrators and community leaders and discuss with them about the inspiring work that they are doing. We visited some of the biggest and best museums and galleries in the world, places like the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, Detroit Institute of Arts among many others. We had professional meetings with so many institutions run by some amazing people doing work that is changing and uplifting their communities. The IVLP programme has really given me a profound insight into the arts industry in the States and a fresh perspective as I come back home to implement.”

Meeting and networking with diverse like-minded people was top of her priority list.

“There were 15 other participants in this particular IVLP cohort drawn from as far as Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, Oceania and the Balkans. They are the most amazing group of people I have ever met, we spent a lot of time together and by the end of the programme we had become fast friends. The work that each of them is doing in their home countries is truly remarkable. Our diverse cultural backgrounds made our shared love for the arts all the more meaningful and I’m certain we have made connections and friends for life,” shared Moyo. –@MbuleloMpofu