Zimbabwe heads for art World Cup

epresenting the country will put local creative arts into perspective.
Zimbabwe is billed to participate for the first time at the 54th Venice Biennale exhibition titled “Seeing Ourselves” that opens on June 4 and runs until November 27, 2011.
This year’s theme is a call on all nations to introspection and expression of their own light and idiosyncrasies.
Chikukwa said he was happy with the line-up of artists to represent Zimbabwe at the exhibition, which is the equivalent of the Fifa World Cup.
“Honestly, I have no qualms about the artists who have been selected to exhibit at Venice Biennale,” Chikukwa said.
Artists to representing Zimbabwe at Venice Biennale include Tapfuma Gutsa, Misheck Masamvu, Berry Bickle and Calvin Dondo.
“As the curator of the show I think I reserve the right to choose the artists to represent Zimbabwe at that world platform.
“Yes, there are several brilliant artists but its not everyone who can be included. In other words, I look at the work and see whether or not it’s appropriate for the exhibition,” Chikukwa said.
There have been murmurings within the art circles with some visual artists crying foul that they were left out from exhibiting their works at the grand stage.
“The problem with some artists is that they think everyone is able to take part in such a grand exhibition and that’s wrong.
“A curator is like a deejay, you have to select the appropriate songs for a particular audience and place. It is unfortunate for artists to accuse me of any wrongdoing when I have done a lot within a short period of time as a curator of the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe,” he said.
According to Chikukwa, he has secured funding for the artists who will be taking part at the Venice Biennale.
“Besides securing funding for the exhibition I have managed to bring some of the world’s renowned contemporary gallerists from the Tate Gallery in the United States and curators from overseas,” he said.
Chikukwa underscored the need for an art exhibition considering the events that have taken place in Zimbabwe in the past decade.
“The events that have taken place in Zimbabwe over the past 10 years clearly indicate the need for a rare, thought-provoking, high-profile contemporary art exhibition,” he said.
This exhibition will include newly commissioned works made specifically for the 54th Venice Biennale 2011.
The presence of Zimbabwe at the Pavilion is crucial in that local creative arts are being recognised worldwide.
This follows seclusion of Zimbabwean art for many years and this time the participation by local artists provides a rare opportunity to spark discussions about the role of artists in society.
Doreen Sibanda, the executive director of the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe, said the West undermined the potential in the region hence the segregation.
“Zimbabwe’s bold move to participate at this event is meant to send a clear message of engagement and resilience.
“This year’s theme at Venice Biennale calls all nations to introspection and expression of their own light and idiosyncrasies and it is in response to this call that Zimbabwe will be presenting ‘Seeing Ourselves: Questioning our Geography, Landscape and Space we Occupy from Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’,” she said.
Sibanda said the four artists selected for the exhibition each embraced different aspects of the contemporary artists’ language.
“The artists manipulated different media in order to tell stories and narratives of Zimbabwe as we inch towards self- realisation and undergo the inevitable highs and lows through which all nations have to pass,” she said.
The exhibition will be a momentous event for the participation of an African country in the most important appointment of all artists, curators, collectors, public and private institutions from the international modern art world as well as for a global public.
The gazebo will give Zimbabwe a platform to focus on its own history by presenting some of its best and most remarkable artists.
Worth noting is that the African continent is first to recognise the importance of its talents.
“This initial traditional significant exposition of Zimbabwean art at the 54th International Art Exhibition la Biennale di Venenzia is an imperative discourse that will see the establishment international art scene.
“For more than 50 years the reputation of Zimbabwean visual art has been subjugated by the high-profile success of the Shona sculpture movement and this has meant that other art forms have been marginalised,” she said.