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Bongani Ndlovu Entertainment Correspondent
THE National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo reopened yesterday with optimism that the mounting of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo’s statue and renaming of Main Street after him would inspire artistes and bring business to the gallery.The National Gallery was closed for the festive season last year on December 20.
The gallery’s director Voti Thebe said the centre was looking forward to a great response from the public this year. He said the gallery was already reprinting its logos and letter heads to match the new changes on the street.
“People are gathering at the statue on a daily basis. We see that as an opportunity that the gallery will benefit from the added attention on the street and we are now reprinting logos to update our records,” said Thebe.
The gallery is situated at corner Leopold Takawira and newly renamed Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo Street, formerly Main Street.
The veteran artiste said the Dr Nkomo’s statue (right) inspires them as artistes to do more this year.
He said 2013 was a fruitful year for the gallery as they managed to uplift female artistes and have 12 openings of exhibitions.
“Zandile Masuku was able to exhibit her own wares in visual art which was a step ahead in uplifting female artists. Also we would like to thank all our friends of the gallery who helped us last year,” he said.
Masuku did a solo exhibition of her paint works called Connecting the Dots in August that proved to be a success. Thebe said the gallery would continue to promote art and have more in store for the rest of the year, with a programme set to be out by the end of the month.
“At the moment we are putting together the ingredients for a good year. We are looking forward to 2014 being a great year for the arts,” said Thebe.
The National Gallery in Bulawayo has given platform to a number of artists from different institutions namely Mzilikazi Craft Centre, Bulawayo Polytechnic, among others, to showcase their works.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter