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Problem Masau Arts Correspondent
MASIMBA MUDHOKWANI sits under a tree to find shade from the blazing sun as he goes through his work at Chitungwiza Arts Centre.
Sculpting is the only means of survival he has mastered throughout his life. His hardened but cracked hands tell a story of a man who istrying to eke a living through innocent means but buyers rarely come to the centre these days.
He has not sold any piece for the past two months and is forced to look for other means of survival.
Mudhokwani is not alone in this predicament. Many other sculptors have learnt to find alternative survival strategies because business is low in their sector.
With the November rains starting to pour, Mudhokwani has turned to subsistence farming to supplement meagre earnings from his passion.
“I have been sculpting since 1997. It is the only profession that I have known for years. The truth is that business is down and I have to find other means to survive. One can spend more than a month without selling any piece.
“Most of the artists are now part-time sculptors because they have to do other things that generate income,” he said showing a rare glimpse of hope.
Most sculptors who spoke to Herald Entertainment said sculpting is slowly becoming a part-time art.
With no high prices, few can afford to sculpt full-time.
Another Chitungwiza-based artist, Isaac Chaloka, said most sculptors are considering abandoning the industry because they are failing to earn a decent living.
“People live on their talent but we are failing to earn a decent living from sculpting. We are now taking the art as a part-time job because it is no longer rewarding.”
Chaloka said they used to take their sculptures to Kariba to sell them to tourists but they have since abandoned the trips because of viability problems.
“Some of the people we used to work with have traded their sculpting skills with unorthodox jobs in foreign countries because the industry is being neglected and under-funded.
“Travellers used to drop by, picking one or two pieces but these days we can go for months without selling one piece,” said Chaloka.
The Government has been urged to support the sculpting industry with funds and avenues for cultural exchange programmes with regional and international countries.
Chitungwiza Arts Centre chairman Clive Gono said Government should help in marketing the sculptors outside the country.
“Right now we are struggling to exhibit our work. The Government and relevant authorities should help us to market our products,” said Gono.
Unlike their counterparts in music who rake in cash through live shows, sculptors rely heavily on selling their pieces and many find themselves in difficult living conditions after failing to attract customers.
“The sculpting industry is failing to rise from the woods and sculptors are living from hand to mouth.
“Many sculptors are failing to make ends meet from their work because of the decline in demand of their products, forcing them to take sculpting as a part-time job,” National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Elvas Mari said.
Renowned sculptor Dominic Benhura said, as heads of families, sculptors have no option but turn to other informal trades to sustain themselves and their dependants. He said sculptors working at his centre, Dominic Studios, are no longer very active.
“The guys now come to the centre for limited hours. Others just come in the morning and by midday they leave for various market places for informal activities as they try to raise money for basic needs. The industry needs assistance,” Benhura said.
Another sculptor, Tapfuma Gutsa, said various Government authorities and the corporate world should rescue the artists.
“We need a fund to assist this industry otherwise one of the most important art disciplines in Zimbabwe faces extinction,” Gutsa said.
Online Reporter