Woman at The Top

At The Gallery
It has generally been stated that the creative part of the mind is of the feminine whilst the analytical bears the masculine features. This goes down to the individual’s extraction of either to develop a personal perspective or to draw an opinion and at the end of it, to have personality.

The European Union in collaboration with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe will commemorate International Women’s Day with an exhibition entitled “Woman at the Top” opening at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on March 6, 2014.

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth” were the words of Simone de Beauvior, who is revered as one of the 20th century’s greatest Philosophers.

“Woman at the Top” will thus challenge this world that man represents by exposing the female outlook and the spiritus mundi that prevails strongly amongst women through an unstoppable tide that turns and tosses the patriarchal ark on which this world is contained.
In light of the aforementioned point “Woman at the Top” is inclined to use visual art to express the message of success against every known odd such as tradition, location and sex to unveil the creative energy women have reclaimed over the years.

The visual art scene in Zimbabwe is blooming with talent and arguably most of the upcoming and proficient artists are women.
Most of these women artists have appeal on the international scene such as Agnes Nyanhongo, Marjorie Wallace, Semina Mpofu and Nyary Dhliwayo.

“It has been a long time since we turned our gaze exclusively to what women are doing in art in Zimbabwe,” said Doreen Sibanda, the Executive Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and co-curator of the show.

She continued: “The number of female artists is few when compared to their male counterparts though several are managing to distinguish themselves at home and abroad. This show is a call to both new and established female artists to reveal their narratives and uncover their talents,” she concluded.

Aldo Dell’Ariccia, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Zimbabwe, added: “Women are excelling in the most diverse sectors of the Arts in Zimbabwe. They are outstanding musicians, painters, performers, dancers, photographers . . . By sponsoring this exhibition, the European Union seeks to promote their artistic expression as a way to enrich the national cultural production.”

“Woman at the Top” is progressive and seeks to inspire women to become more active and set objectives that drive them towards a stage that stands before the peak experience, in other words a realistic satisfaction of being.

The presence of women in the upper echelons of society be it in the boardroom or Government opens up a different direction on the general discourse of whichever fields they occupy.

Where the navigation of an organisation had relied heavily on analysis and strategy, creation and conscious responsibility is introduced and where an aggressive stance had been, an integrative approach is often assumed.

Art is a form of life as opposed to being a presentation of ideas. If this is so, “Woman at the Top” gives centre stage to Artists who are naturally makers and sustainers of life itself.

In the long run “Woman at the Top” strives to project the positive themes and victories made by women rather than to present the detrimental topics that are constantly present in the public forum.

If the reality is that by educating a woman one educates a village then moreover that one woman makes it to the top then an entire community also ascends to greatness.

This exhibition of art from Zimbabwe’s women artists will take the audience to the top and hopefully will keep them there.