Over 100 artists from the Chitungwiza Arts Centre contributed sculptures examining Cecil Rhodes’s legacy in Zimbabwe. From these, four Zimbabwean artists’ works were selected for an upcoming Oriel College exhibition. The selected pieces emerged from 110 submissions to an Oxford Zimbabwe Arts Partnership (OZAP) competition.”
“On March 7th, judges selected Wallace Mkankha’s (34) “Blindfold Justice” as the winning sculpture. This Chitungwiza-born artist’s piece will headline the Oriel College exhibition. Additionally, three other sculptures were chosen for display, and all four will be transported from Zimbabwe to the UK.”
Cecil John Rhodes, a 19th-century southern African politician, is viewed by the Rhodes Must Fall movement as a symbol of colonialism and racism.
Cynthia Joseph (24), a resident artist at the Chitungwiza Arts Centre who is also working with AVAC Arts gallery in Victoria Falls was also a finalist in the OZAP/Chitungwiza Arts Centre competition. “I am deeply grateful for this opportunity,” she said. “This is my first award. Stone sculpting is challenging, especially as a young woman in Zimbabwe. Economic hardships limit job opportunities here, so I’m thrilled our unique stone art is gaining international recognition. These acknowledgments strengthen my faith and hope for my career.”
Lord Mendoza, Oriel College provost, said the exhibition would “not only explore the nuances of the legacy of colonialism but will also bring the art of the people of Zimbabwe to Oriel College, to the University of Oxford, and the UK”.
OZAP founder Richard Pantlin called it an “important step forward in creating a partnership that provides educational and cultural benefit”.
The arts partnership was formed in response to the Rhodes Must Fall protests, with a view to using Zimbabwean art as a “constructive way forward for historic healing”.
CAC chairman Tendai Gwarazava, said: “The sculpture should symbolize the strength and courage of our ancestors, who despite facing unimaginable hardships, continued to fight for their freedom and dignity.
“It should inspire us to work towards a brighter future, where the people in the world can live in peace, harmony and prosperity.”
Rhodes was a colonialist, businessman and politician who drove the annexation of land in southern Africa in the late 19th Century in Zimbabwe and Zambia, then named Rhodesia. In 2015 the Rhodes Must Fall campaign began after students in South Africa called for the removal of his statue on the steps of the University of Cape Town, sparking protests at other universities. Then after the death of George Floyd in 2020, conversations around colonisers like Rhodes came to a head with the decapitation of his statue in South Africa and a number of protests in Oxford..
