Visual artist shines at Hifa

spirit that has imbued the Sunshine City that on Tuesday exploded to life with the Harare International Festival of the Arts.
Running under the theme “The Engagement Party”, the festival – now in its 12th edition – has become a symbol of what is positive in Zimbabwe. A lot has been written and said on different artistes and performances but the bottom line is “local is lekker” while at the same it is important that the festival has managed to engage the international community through the arts.
Think of the Nyau dancers, songstress Chiwoniso Maraire, Winky D, the Hifa direct theatre performances, music and dance, jazz, mbira and hip-hop enthusiasts and visual artists among others are making a mark at this year’s edition.
True, the country has its own Leonardo Da Vincis, Michelangelos, Picassos and more of Dominic Benhuras.
One example is renowned visual artist Hermit Muyambo from Westgate who noted that the festival is a chance not only to market and showcase talents but to learn new artistic skills and different cultural backgrounds by engaging and interacting with their counterparts.
Born on March 19, 1976, the visual artist says art can be a lucrative source of income if taken seriously.
“Art is a beautiful industry as you can work at your own pace. You are like your own boss. It creates an inner feeling that makes you search deep into yourself and wanting you to make more resulting in you having more money to fend for yourself and family,” he said.
Muyambo, who has abandoned his career as an engineer to focus on what he knows best using pastel chalk, oil paints, pencils and rubber, said art is his life. He just could not live any other way.
“Art is my passion. It is an in-born thing. I am a qualified automotive engineer and have worked for different companies at quite senior positions. And I am not just an engineer, I have even worked for a bakery as a procurement manager. During my lunch time I could just start sketching and drawing,” said the 35-year-old.
Muyambo, who takes a day to draw an A4 size portrait and three to four days for an A2 size picture, said his dream is to represent the country at art festivals in Spain, France and China.
“Hifa is a stepping stone for me although it is my second time to exhibit. The biggest event I have attended so far was the South African art exhibition last year where I displayed faces of icons like Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma and Barack Obama,” said Muyambo.
The father of two started drawing during his primary school days at Rujeko Primary School in Dangamvura, Mutare. “Too bad that back then people didn’t take art seriously, so it was very tough and even affording the 3HB pencil and white sheets was an achievement. I used to draw on any sheet that I come across,” explained Muyambo.
He said he grew up in an unstable environment after his parents split when he was in Grade Six fulfilling the prediction that his parents had made at his birth when they gave him the name Hermit; meaning someone who lives alone. But now he has his own family.
His children are also drawing some sketches at home, evidence that they are following in their father’s footsteps.
He added that locals are slowly appreciating art as compared back then. “Right now the support is better as back then I used to have only foreigners coming to buy or place orders for my artwork, but the situation has changed now as many are seen flocking to Avondale where I am stationed and buy and place orders,” said Muyambo.
To date, the talented guru – who never studied art at school has drawn more than 300 portraits, half of them last year alone. Most of them have been sold out. He said is now venturing into drawing objects rather than portraits and is being inspired by Robert Makoni, popularly known for the Chimbunu comic strip, and Solomon Mugutso, who is now based in South Africa.
He has worked on portraits of notable figures like cricketer Hamilton Masakadza, Pastor Emmanuel Makandiwa, evangelists Tom Deuschle and Ezekiel Guti and wife among others.
He practically spent last year drawing portraits of celebrities who graced the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Muyambo, who said his one-man band is growing, now has a manager who deals with everything except the pencil and art board.
“The time has ripened for me to concentrate more on my artwork rather running around like I used to do before. I now have a manager called Fungai Chikwanda and currently he is in South Africa where he is looking for materials to use and some skills and ideas, I guess, to develop and promote my career,” laughs Muyambo.
His art costs from US$60-US$200 generally. The most expensive of his works is the latest portrait of 11 family members depicted as a family from the great grandparents. Muyambo extols Hifa as the platform that has raised his stature to respectable heights.
And he believes that the spirit of the festival demands that one good turn results in another and the visual artist is now conducting free lessons at Groombridge Primary School and plans to go to Shingirirayi Trust, an orphanage school located in Tafara.
“I wish every school can offer art as a subject because it is very interesting,” dreams Muyambo. And why not? It is certainly refreshing to meet one Zimbabwean artist who is not whining about how the industry does not pay!
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