Sky is the limit says artist Fisani Nkomo

Courage Musariri Saturday Leisure Reporter
BULAWAYO- BASED visual artist Fisani Nkomo is a talented man who says the sky is the limit. Born in April 1971 at Mnene Hospital in Mberengwa, Nkomo said his passion for art saw him resigning from work to take art fulltime.He said he resigned from work in 1998 because he found no challenge. Nkomo said he became a fulltime visual artist in 2000.

He said to perfect his skills, he underwent training under the tutorship of Danisile Ncube, one of Bulawayo’s leading contemporary sculptors between 2000 and 2001.

Nkomo is now a resident artist at The National Gallery in Bulawayo and some of his works are on display at Gallery Delta, in Harare.
“I have a number of portraits that are on display at the National Gallery in Bulawayo and surrounding areas and I have been invited to exhibit in Europe as well as Southern Africa,” he said.

Nkomo said he did not attend any college or university to acquire art skills.
“I went to college and studied Business Studies and worked for sometime. I left employment to take up art fulltime which I felt was more challenging than working for a company,” said Nkomo.

A fulltime artist for the past 13 years, Nkomo has been involved in a number of workshops, exhibitions as well as festivals. He said he was a curator and arts facilitator with a passion for lobbying and networking with other artistes and his works mainly focuses on social issues.

“I am inspired mostly by what happens around me,” said Nkomo.
He has coordinated Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo for a number of years and Creative Industries Youth Conference in 2009. Nkomo was also a creator, organiser and event manager of Poetic Brush Project in 2009 and 2010.

“I have travelled around the world showcasing my works and have been fortunate enough to have had this chance. Visual arts are still new in the country but are a big industry in other countries. In 2009, I attended a number of festivals in the United Kingdom among them was Queer Arts Exhibition at Gallery Jam Factory in Oxford as well as the Marechera Celebration at Trinity College.

“I had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the big names in the visual arts industry there,” he said.
Nkomo encouraged local colleges and universities to promote the arts by including arts subjects in their curriculum.

“This is an industry that can create jobs but we need the support of colleges and universities. Educational institutions should promote arts subjects,” he said.

Nkomo specialises in abstract and mixed media paintings and his work relates to what happens around him, the content he reads and the music he listens. This includes mostly jazz, hip-hop, reggae and soul. He believes in creating work that communicates rather than just beautiful work.

In 2001, he won the best sculpture at the Visual Artists’ Association of Bulawayo (VAAB) annual exhibition and in 2005, won a second prize at the Isigodlo Samakhosi Exhibition.