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Talent Chimutambgi Arts Reporter
As Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Road weaves its way out of Harare to the northeast, flanked by several car sales, Newlands Shopping Centre suddenly appears.
Vehicles slow down because of traffic lights and a subsequent roundabout ahead, giving motorists time to take their eyes off the road.
Between the traffic lights and the roundabout, an array of iron, stone and wood sculptures is on display, gathering dust.
The dust signals the battering the pieces have endured from the weather elements and the sculptors’ waning fortunes.
The artists who toiled putting their minds, creativity and energy to carve various pieces have hit hard times.
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic four years ago, the business has slumped, leaving the artists and vendors struggling to survive.
The sculptors, who work under Matetanda Arts and Crafts Cooperative, are struggling to realise meaningful sales.
The chairperson of the cooperative, Itai Doriro, bemoaned the low sales.
“We are facing a myriad of challenges, chief among them low sales that started during the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Most of our target customers come from overseas, so travel restrictions were not only a major blow to them, but us as well,” said Doriro.
“The other challenge is our vending site, which is now overcrowded. We want to formalise our business by forming a cooperative to acquire a new strategic place. International buyers shun congested places like this one, where there is no free movement and easy parking. Close to the same place there are touts selling haphazardly,” said Doriro.
A seasoned sculptor, Bamusi Dzimupewani, said that he used to attract visiting professional hunters, who usually favoured artefacts depicting animals.
“Most of my customers were professional hunters who used to come to the country. They would come through to buy our artefacts. However, it’s no longer business as usual, they have disappeared since Covid-19 hit, and we are no longer realising meaningful proceeds.”
Dzimupewani said business was lucrative when a group of Chinese tourists used to frequent his place, adding he had lost contact with them.
“There was a group of Chinese who would come and buy my artefacts and in those days things were stable. They used to come twice a year, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have lost contact.”
Another trader, Netsai Mupwanyiwa said the good times are now history.
“Business is very low, I can say since the time of Covid-19, we registered a serious decline in sales. We thought we would navigate our way out of the woods after the pandemic, but we failed. Things are worsening, our morale is very low.
“We used to get over US$100 per week, but nowadays it’s so difficult to make even US$5 in the same period. Things are harder now. Local buyers don’t pay much, they are good at bargaining and you end up selling your products at a low price,” said Mupwanyiwa.
Online Reporter