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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Senior Arts Reporter
Visual artist David Chinyama who is based in Canada will participate at this year’s Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) which begins tomorrow.
The fair, which coincides with the celebration of the 60th year anniversary of Toronto Outdoor Fair in partnership with the city of Toronto, will see different organisations and artists taking part.
It will run from tomorrow until July 11 and will be conducted virtually as per Covid-19 regulations.
The TOAF seeks to engage arts talk in addition to highly curated contemporary art displays by participating artists.
In an interview, Chinyama said all was set for the show as he had been preparing for months.
“I will be showcasing a collection of new body of works that l created since last year. Most of these works were created during the lockdown period of the past year.”
Chinyama said the show was open to everyone, hence he applied to take part.
“The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair is a juried art show. Every artist who wishes to exhibit in this art fair has to submit an application, pay a non-refundable fee, then wait for adjudication.
“A panel of adjudicators then sits to curate and selects artists for the pending showcase based on the strength of submitted applications and artists’ portfolios. Once accepted, the artist has to pay the booth fees to participate.”
Asked how he has been living under the Covid-19 lockdowns, Chinyama said it was a life-changing situation, hence people should adapt to the new norm.
“As an independent full time visual artist, all my income comes from sales of my art.
‘The arts sector here was tremendously affected by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. For over a year now there hasn’t been any physical arts programme here in Toronto.
“And like most artists, l had shifted on to digital platforms like artsy, Facebook and Instagram to market my art.
“I am glad to say the shift worked out well for me as l have managed to reach out to a wider audience across the world.
“Despite not being able to mount physical exhibitions in galleries, l have been fairing pretty well on my virtual shows and online sales.”
Born and raised in Harare, Chinyama said art was an in-born thing.
“From a tender age, l already knew that all l wanted to be was an artist.
“After high school, with assistance of two benefactors by the name Patty and Norman Pink, I enrolled at Peter Birch School of Art in 1996, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’ school of Visual Art and Design 1997-1999, then Harare Polytechnic Art Department in 2000-2001.
“From 2002, l started my practice as an independent artist and since then l never looked back.”
Chinyama said he works with natural materials like fabrics and natural or synthetic fibres that are cut, attached and painted on to canvas or panels, creating various forms, patterns and shapes.
“I am a person that takes every challenge that l may encounter at any given moment in my life and career as an opportunity for growth,” he said.
“I have always looked up to Dominic Benhura as an inspiration.
“I am privileged that over the years gone by l have managed to learn a bit from him through my interactions with him.
“There are a lot of other creatives of my generation that continue to influence my work in terms of how they manage the business of art.
“These are people like Joe Njagu, Plot Mhako, Masimba Hwati, Willis Wataffi and David Ngwerume.”
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