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Talent Bope Arts Reporter
Three Zimbabwean artists are set to participate in the 9th Edition of the Beijing Biennale competition to be held in China next year.
The edition is set to run from the 18th of January to the 1st of March at the National Art Museum in Beijing.
In the last 8th edition of the Beijing Banali thousands of participants were drawn from across the world.
The artists are David Ngwerume, Dominic Benhura and Nomsa Ndebele. Both Ngwerume and Benhura are sculptors from Harare while Ndebele is a young female visual artist from Gweru.
They were all selected following the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) call for submissions sometime in September.
The selected pieces will be shipped to China today and the costs are catered for by the host country.
The costs cover both to and from China.
Speaking during the Commissioning of Beijing Biennale Artworks, the Acting Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Dr Sekai Nzenza the expedition resonates with the President’s call for engagement and re-engagement with other countries in various facets.
“What we are seeing here symbolises our African identity through art and I think what Mr Ngwerume has done, despite being a lawyer has found an opportunity to come up with a master piece that speaks volumes about Covid-19 prevention measures,” she said.
“The sculpture embraces President Mnangagwa’s vision of prevention against Covid-19,” said Dr Nzenza.
Dr Nzenza said the artefacts which are made from local stones clearly shows that our country is rich in natural resources.
“Having three artists coming from Zimbabwe showcasing their pieces made from local stones indicates that our country is rich in natural resources” said Dr Nzenza.
Ngwerume’s sculpture shows a middle-aged woman being jabbed while Benhura’s artefact portrays romanticism.
Speaking at the same occasion, NACZ director Nicholus Moyo said Ngwerume’s piece reflect the country’s adherence to CovID-19.
He said the event is a result of Zimbabwe, China partnership.
“We are here to celebrate our pieces of art which speaks about defeating the virus to ensure a brighter day tomorrow and we are happy to send artefacts of high quality,” said Moyo.
“The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe partnered China in Arts and culture which Zimbabwe participated in the last edition at the 7th Biennale.
In the last edition in 2018 and 2019, we managed to send two participants” said Moyo.
“In September this year the NACZ called for nominations and selected three out of the initial five candidates, this time around among them is a young lady from Midlands provinces who will participate for the first time.
We hope such programs unlock talent amongst female artists
Moyo said the theme of this 9th edition Biennale is “Light of Life” which resonates well with the light in visual art especially in this period of Covid 19, were the pandemic has threatened human life across the world and nations have supported one another in controlling the virus.
Ngwerume expressed gratefulness to the gesture.
“I’m very grateful for having a piece of my artwork displayed in China.
“The sculpture depicts a woman receiving a jab to combat Covid-19 as the Government gears towards achieving the head immunity,” he said.
Online Reporter