Chronicle Editor
Wayne Chiridza, Showbiz Reporter
NINE resident artistes at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Bulawayo will hold a Zimbabwe Independence exhibition dubbed Dreams and Realities of Zimbabwe at 40 on April 18.
For the first time since indepedence, the main programme of the country’s independence celebrations will be held outside Harare, in Bulawayo at Barbourfields Stadium, as Government implements the concept of devolution.
As such, artistes in the city are joining in on the momentum.
Entrance to the exhibition on Independence Day, April 18, is free.
The gallery recently revived the resident artiste programme where it seeks to grow the knowledge and skills of its artistes.
The artistes have been given the task to produce art that tells what the Zimbabwean Independence means to them.
The exhibition will have pictures, paintings, installations, audios and video clips that will be in line with Zimbabwe’s Independence. The gallery has nine resident artistes namely Ishmael Singo, George Masarira, Dumisani Ndlovu, Nonhlanhla Mathe, Talent Kabhatsa, Miranda Mathe, Omega Masuku, Stanley Sibanda and Nkosikhona Nkomo.
A visit to the gallery saw the artistes hard at work in their studios piecing together their artwork.
Singo who is working on his piece for the exhibition said it was a great opportunity to share his thoughts of independence through his art.
“The piece I’m working on will tell a struggle 40 years before independence and also up to date which is the 40 years since our liberation,” said Singo.
Ndlovu, who has also started on his piece, seeks to showcase the story of Bulawayo, in particular Makokoba in the 60s and also after Zimbabwe attained independence.
“I’m focusing on telling the story of Makokoba and what was transpiring in the 1960s. The piece I’m working on will be self-explanatory once it’s done as there is so much to talk about when it comes to Bulawayo,” said Ndlovu.
Nonhlanhla Mathe who is one of the female artistes at the gallery is yet to start on her piece as she believes ideas start coming in when one is working on it.
“This means quite a lot to me as I get the opportunity to put out what independence means to me. I’m researching the time before independence although I already have a picture from what I have been told. It’s all about putting the history into my art. I may have an idea of what I want to do but when I start working on the piece, I may change the whole concept,” she said.
The NGZ director Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi said: “As we’ve recently revived the resident artistes programme, we’ve young artistes under us and we want them to reinterpret Zimbabwe’s 40 years and what it means to them.”
The gallery wants to showcase what Bulawayo has to offer and the best when it comes to art as also the arts have been framed as the centre of the Independence celebrations. “This coming Independence means a lot to us as Bulawayo will be hosting the first ever National Independence celebrations with art being the centre of it all,” said Nyathi.
Zimbabwe celebrates its 40th independence anniversary next month in Bulawayo in style under the theme: “Zim@40 — Defining the Decade towards the Golden Jubilee.”
Unlike in the past, this year’s independence will be celebrated throughout the year and the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services is going to organise events that will run for the whole year.
Although the main celebrations at Barbourfields Stadium would be Bulawayo-centred, they will maintain a national character. – @waynecas
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