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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
VISUAL artists in Zimbabwe say they are the hardest hit by the latest lockdown as they did not work on their artefacts or exhibit last year following another tight lockdown that lasted eight months.
Zimbabwe is experiencing a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, like other arts spaces, has been shut down again under the stricter lockdwon regulations announced by the Government last week.
Visual Artists Association of Bulawayo (VAAB) interim chairperson, George Masarira said the second wave has cut short their plans for this year.
“It’s been hard for every artist especially from Bulawayo. The second wave came to us as a shock as we didn’t expect it. I had an exhibition that was planned for South Africa but due to the latest lockdown, my plans have been put on hold. In cannot go ahead because the SA borders have been closed again, ” said Masarira.
He said the situation is indicating that it could be worse than last year.
“The lockdown last year hit us for eight months and this meant a lot of artists, especially those in visual arts, weren’t working. Only a few individuals were able to exhibit in other places and most of them are established artists.”
The year was very hard for the visual artists who failed to enter even the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards.
Masarira, a Mzilikazi Arts and Craft Centre exponent, said they are now planning to meet as artists with the National Gallery to map a way forward.
“We’re yet to meet with the National Gallery authorities to see how we can do exhibitions online. I think we need to start accepting that this thing (Covid-19) is here to stay. The only problem is how to live with it because as visual artists, we need to have shows,” said Masarira.
“For now, we have to take everything online because most of the things are all online. That’s how business is being conducted so we need to find ways to put the art online so that people buy there. The artists in VAAB are the same artists who are part of the National Gallery so without them, the gallery can’t function,” said Masarira.
Covid-19 has been so disruptive that even plans to revive VAAB and put proper structures had to be suspended.
VAAB had been inactive for some time and Masarira and a skeleton team was last year tasked to revive its activities for the benefit of artists.
“I’m still the interim chairperson. We wanted to hold an AGM so that we could formalise the VAAB structures but these plans have been put on hold due to the pandemic,” said Masarira. – Follow on Twitter @bonganiunkunzi
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