Mbulelo Mpofu [email protected]
UNITED States-based Associate Professor and Curator of Ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Dr Jennifer Kyker, has won the Judith McCulloh Public Sector Award alongside National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) Contemporary Art curator Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa for their collaborative exhibition, Chicago Dzviti: Portrait of Zimbabwe/Mifananidzo yeZimbabwe.
Presented by the Society for Ethnomusicology, the award recognises projects that bring ethnomusicological research to the public and promote partnerships between academic institutions and other organisations.
Kyker expressed excitement at the recognition, describing her collaboration with Muchemwa as both professionally rewarding and enjoyable.
“I am honoured to receive the Judith McCulloh Public Sector Award for the exhibit ‘Chicago Dzviti: Portrait of Zimbabwe/Mifananidzo yeZimbabwe,’ together with my co-winner and co-curator, Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa,” she said.
“Fadzai and I also had the most fun ever working on this exhibit together! Yay us!”
The award is presented every two years to individuals or organisations whose public projects promote a wider understanding of ethnomusicology.
The recognition also shines a spotlight on an exhibition that combines photography, music, cultural memory and Zimbabwean identity through the extensive photographic archive of the late legendary photographer Chicago Dzviti.
In June, the exhibition opened at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, following earlier successful presentations at the gallery’s Harare branch and Arches Gallery at Aberfoyle in the Honde Valley.
Its arrival in Bulawayo brought Dzviti’s photographic legacy closer to audiences in the region, giving art and music enthusiasts an opportunity to explore images documenting Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage.
The exhibition features 75 carefully selected photographs capturing the country’s people, traditions and cultural expressions.
Beyond showcasing the photographs as works of art, the exhibition explores how visual records help preserve the social and cultural settings in which music and other artistic practices develop.
The partnership between Kyker and Muchemwa also highlights the importance of collaboration between international researchers and local cultural institutions in making academic research accessible to the public.
For the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the project reinforces its role in preserving and promoting the country’s artistic heritage while giving contemporary audiences an opportunity to engage with historical material.
The award is also a significant achievement for Zimbabwe’s cultural sector, highlighting the international value of projects that document the country’s heritage and encourage public engagement beyond academic spaces.
For the late Dzviti, whose photographs continue to provide a glimpse into Zimbabwean life, the award is further recognition of the lasting value of his work.
Follow on X: @MbuleloMpofu
