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Sibongile Ndiweni, Sunday Life Reporter
BULAWAYO has aptly been given the tag of a national arts hub owing to the multiplicity of cultures and the artistic talent in their multifaceted genres that it has over the years churned out into the world.
It has proved in no small measure that it has the capacity to grow the country’s arts industry and the economy if its potential is fully harnessed. It has so many places from where popular arts brands have been manufactured.
Among the many arts centres, Mzilikazi Arts and Craft Centre stands out as one such place which nurtures talents and has sired many great people in the arts industry both nationally and internationally.
The Mzilikazi Arts and Craft Centre is an arts school that enrols students interested in the arts and does not require any formal qualifications. The centre enrols students from the communities in Bulawayo including some who return from South Africa to pursue studies at the renowned arts centre.
It is a tourist destination centre too and is part of the heritage tourism trail and also conducts educational tours for early childhood development, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities that may want to appreciate visual art.
The pottery section assists learners in facilitating the completion of product manufacturing in ceramics. On average, 400 students in vocational training attend computer lessons at Mzilikazi Art Centre every year.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Bulawayo City Council Corporate Communications Manager, Nesisa Mpofu said ever since the centre reopened in 2018, it has had 107 learners who have attended arts lessons, and has had an average of 12 graduates a year. She said the number of graduates was determined by interest shown adding that for the year 2023, the enrolment into the centre was currently underway.
The Mzilikazi Arts Centre has managed to groom many artists and a number of them are well recognised people in the arts industry both locally and internationally.
Such names as Dominic Mkhosi who has opened an art school in South Africa, Sithembiso Chinara a guru in painting and ceramics, Philomina Silonda a fine artist but now retired from National Museums and Monuments, Adam Madebe a guru in steel and clay sculpture in South Africa have come through the arts centre.
The list also includes but is not limited to Stanley Phiri a ceramics and sculpture specialist, Voti Thebe former Director of the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo (now retired), David Ndlovu who is currently working in Mozambique as a sculptor, Nkosilomusa Maphosa who is now heading a college in Victoria Falls after going through Hillside Teachers’ College as an Art and Design teacher, George Masarira a self-employed fine artist, Newman Ndlovu an icon in painting who sells painting in Bulawayo Galleries of high value, Cliford Zulu a ceramic specialist, as well as Lodwell who has been recently assisted by local minister to go to UK on fine art portraits.
“Mzilikazi School of Arts plays a major role in visual art education for the Bulawayo community. The City of Bulawayo’s Vocational, Homecraft and Recreation (VHR) centres offer youth-oriented skills training programmes that empower youths and also mould them into responsible citizens.
The objective of the sections is to equip youths with technical, leadership and life skills for either formal employment or create jobs for self and others. This will ensure sustainable economic development in the community.
Mzilikazi School of Arts operates under the auspices of the City of Bulawayo. Its objective is to train school leavers and less privileged members of the community in art skills to enable them to earn a living through art production,” said Mpofu.
The centre was founded in 1963. It is a council-owned project that was initiated to give youths from Mzilikazi and surrounding communities a chance to obtain skills training in the arts, so as to create self-help projects to overcome unemployment.
Those who leave formal school are urged to enrol and learn various skills in the following fields; pottery, wood sculpture, fine art, metal sculpture and ceramics. The centre offers a two-year training course and has managed to train hundreds of talented individuals and helped them realise and nurture their artistic talents.
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