Introducing Cynthia Joseph, a resident artist at the AVAC Arts Victoria Falls International Airport Art Gallery

Her name is Cynthia Joseph. At 23 years old she is one of the youngest stone sculptors in Zimbabwe. She says she was challenged by the fact that stone sculpting is a male dominated industry and she wants to change the status quo and become an inspiration to other female artists to try out stone…

European Union supports Zimbabwe culture month as it launches Sculpture Competition

By Elvis Dumba The European Union continues to support the Zimbabwean arts and culture sector with the EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst Von Kirchman launching a sculpturing competition as part of the ongoing Culture Month celebrations. The Competition is part of World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrated globally on May 21…

Bulawayo Arts Festival to promote township tourism

By Sharon Sibindi This year’s edition of the Bulawayo Day and Bulawayo Arts Festival (BAF) will mainly focus on promoting township tourism, organisers have said. The event, which is aimed at promoting arts, culture and heritage by providing incubation, support and promotion of creative industries, will run from June 1 to 5 under the theme Our…

EU celebrates Zim culture in Matobo

By Mpumelelo Moyo and Winstone Antonio THE European Union (EU) joined Zimbabwe in celebrating Culture Month at a culinary exchange event held at Amagugu International Cultural Centre at Nathisa in Matobo, Matabeleland South province, on Monday. The EU has donated US$63 000 to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) for the commemorations running under…

Masendeke takes visual art to new heights

ONCE upon a time, there was the usual prelude used by folk storytellers to gain maximum attention from their audience, mainly children. For Shona-speaking storytellers they would expect the attentive audience to immediately respond by saying: “Dzepfunde (we are listening)”, which would encourage the storyteller to proceed. Among the many old Shona tales that children…

In praise of African art: How Shona sculpting emerged

By Percy Zvomuya Joseph Ndandarika, who was once described as one of the three greatest living stone sculptors. (Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe) In the act of remembering the Zimbabwean sculptor Lazarus Takawira, who died of Covid-related complications on 12 January, it is impossible not to talk about Frank McEwen, the founding director of…

AVAC Arts opens gallery at the Victoria Falls International Airport

By Kundai Marunya – Herald Arts Correspondent Renowned online gallery Avac Arts has moved to expand their operations, thus opening their first physical gallery space at Victoria Falls Airport.  This is in line with the organisation’s 2023 vision to increase their visibility and foster development in the sector.  The space, set up towards the end…

Transform Africa Summit 2023 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Had fun last week at the Transform Africa Summit 2023 held in VIctoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Congradulations to all the 7 Ms Geeks who got prices. Zimbawe surely was represented amongst the winners. Well done to all of the participants and to those who won. The future of African development in this technology era lies in…

Germany embassy unveils Buddy Bear

THE Germany embassy in Harare in partnership with the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last week unveiled the German Buddy Bear to showcase the Ndebele culture globally. The Buddy Bear, also known as “Utshomi” (a Ndebele native name for “Buddy”) a project done by Portia Ndlovu, Khumbulani Ncube, Khathazile Mlala and Lackina Zulu…

Farewell Sekuru Shumba Nyamuzihwa Sylvester Mubayi

One of Zimbabwe’s finest artists who belonged to the famous First Generation sculptors, Sylvester Mubayi died on the 13th of December 2022. Confirming the death, National Gallery of Zimbabwe Director Raphael Chikukwa, who also worked with the sculptor as Curator at the Venice Biennale in 2017, expressed shock at the death of the artist. “It…

Edward Chiwawa passes away; Shona sculpture loses a sekuru

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that senior artist Edward Chiwawa passed away last night. There are only a handful of sculptors left in Zimbabwe who are part of that first group to achieve international recognition, the so-called ‘first generation’ of Shona sculptors. That select group has lost one of its…

Zimbabwean female artists tell stories through sculpting

Firmly grasping a hammer and chisel, Simelokuhle Zibengwa, a stone sculptor, effortlessly pounded on a small chunk of rock. White-ish fragments fell off as she carefully hammered through the stone. After a while, and with a great deal of effort, a figure of a rabbit could be seen taking shape. Zibengwa’s works of art are not…

Avac Arts nominated for the LUXlife Global Excellence Awards 2022

Shortlisting has recently begun for the sixth annual Global Excellence Awards, proudly hosted by LUXlife magazine, and we are delighted to be informed that Avac Arts has been identified as a nominee this year. The Global Excellence Awards 2022 are dedicated to recognising the best products, services, and brands across the world who are leading the luxury elite in…

Art centres play pivotal role in nurturing talent

By Kundai Marunya (Arts Correspondent) The process of transferring one’s imagination into something visual and tangible is often challenging that only a few very creative individuals dare to take it on. It takes years of practice, learning from the masters and formulating one’s own distinct style before they finally earn the right to showcase their…

Stone sculptor enthusiast puts nation on the map

By Robert Mukondiwa Victoria Falls-based arts connoisseur and founder and director of Zimbabwe’s leading online sculpture gallery Avac Arts, Terrence Musiyiwa, has scored another first and put the nation on the map as he emphasises the need for both vocational skills and educational prowess. He recently shone after Avac Arts was featured as a leading…

Zimbabwean poet and filmmaker Zibusiso Mpofu has won the 2022 Brunel International African Poetry award

Zimbabwean poet and filmmaker Zibusiso Mpofu has won the title of Brunel International African Poetry 2022 Award. Mpofu was announced as the winner among finalists which included Conor Kogil from South Africa, Asmaa Jama and Edil Hassan from Somalia, Fahad Al-Amoudi from Ethiopia and Adedayo Agarau and Chisom Okafor from Nigeria. The award goes to…

Stone sculptors chisel away behind the scenes

By Kundai Marunya Arts Correspondent Sharp clicks can be heard from a distance, the sound of hammers and chisels as they cut into the stone yielding to the creator’s vision. On another work station, a grinder raves as the masters perfect their different stone works, all synchronising to produce a melody that would easily top…