Time we own our intellectual space

significance of African cul­ture and arts were still subject to the sover­eignty of European interpretations and their perceived antiquated anthropologi­cal owner­ship of African culture.
History was presented as an attempt by the hegemonies to control the consciousness of the subjugated African.
It was also meant to create an environment that would build a body of knowledge only beneficial to the continued perpetuation of their supremacy and to the continued misun­derstanding and commercial exploitation of the African artist.
Ownership of intellectual space was a pre­serve of Occidental scholars.
Even following the end of the imperial colonisation of the continent, the meaning and significance of African culture and art were subject to the sovereignty of European interpretations and their perceived albeit antediluvian anthropological ownership of African culture.
Even in this new millennium, white-Euro­pean and American scholars continue their misinterpretation of newly independent post-colonial artists’ work and continue re-inventing their own version of African con­temporary art and culture whilst thriving to own our intellectual space.
It must be known that African art, espe­cially its contemporary manifestations are a huge cultural phenomenon.
By virtue of its size, magnitude, multiple facets, and clusters of indigenous and hybrid African people resulting from clan-intermar­riage, any honest attempt by an outsider to interpret our art is like trying to unpick a Rubric maze.
The answer to these anomalies is for African art scholars to articulate, document and disseminate the history, ethos and inten­tions while simultaneously garnering the ownership of their art and taking it back to its original roots.
The closure of many private former white-owned galleries and art institutions in Zim­babwe, between 2007 and 2012, should be seen as a clarion call for indigenous artists to rethink and create alternative spaces to exhibit, discuss and record their artworks, in order to present those to their specific local populace.
The era of foraging for foreign buyers, tourists and collectors, should be a thing of the past.
Authentic Zimbabwean artists need to reflect on their role in shaping their own socio-cultural urban environment, by liberat­ing art from its Western commoditisation and reasserting its role as a mediator in soci­ety. Perhaps it is time for Zimbabwe to explore new ways of exhibiting and bringing art to the people via TV broadcasts, DVD docu­mentaries, and other electronic media so as to reach the homes of the domestic audi­ences.
An alternative mode of communication would be the utilisation of civic spaces to per­form and display our wares independently.
Visual art is a citadel of our culture. Com­mercial galleries need to geld the importance of using their spaces as moneymaking insti­tutions and instead use them as venues for cultural exchange, education and the dissem­ination of information, relating to the history, aesthetics and sociology of the nation. 
Perhaps the idea of erasing the commercial aspects of art is what will make us historically relevant as Zimbabweans.
l Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Post-Modern Art Theory and a doctorate in Busi­ness Administration (DBA) in Post-Colonial Art and Heritage Studies. Law and Art Diploma from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and worked with WALA (Washington Area Lawyers’ Association).   He is also a practising artist, art critic, designer and Corporate Image Consultant.