Looking for an investment? African art is hotter than gold

(CNN)Amid strong demand and skyrocketing prices, contemporary African art is increasingly attracting the attention of investors worldwide. While that might irk the purest at heart among some art collectors, it is a testament to the growing interest that African artists have spurred on the international markets.

Artists urged to embrace internet

AVAC Arts Director Terrence Musiyiwa says local artists should embrace the use of the internet to develop their business. Avac Arts is a Zimbabwe-based African visual and contemporary arts organisation that promotes African art and assists artists in sales. AVAC Arts also helps artists to be part of art promotional activities such as local, regional…

Artwork of the Week: Telling Secrets By Ndandarika Joseph

This sculpture speaks on true friendship by means of the sub rosa element which its name implies. Although somewhat malevolent, the sculpture is expressive of confidentiality, reliability and trust. The convention of trust is a human necessity that is synonymous with association, affiliation and amicability; virtues that are well definitive of friendship. All things being…

The creators palette exhibition set to open at the First Floor Gallery Harare

First Floor Gallery Harare will from June 1 open a unique exhibition by Rodney T Badza titled “The Creator’s Palette” at 31 Lyric Heights in Harare. This will be a show of Rodney’s work for the past four years. The Exhibition will showcase a series of works, including drawings, photographs, prints, illustrations, paintings, ceramics and…

Ife Masks By Traditional Artist of the Nigerian people

Ife masks imitated the human face as accurately and sensitively to bring out the feeling for harmony, balance and proportion. They are ceremonial masks with a great cultural and traditional significance in Africa and are considered amongst the finest creations in the art world. Thus, the masks are important instruments that aid in the consolidation…

Gallery embarks on artist portfolio review

This June, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe will facilitate a portfolio review exercise for 20 practicing visual artists. The review is meant to augment best practise by expanding the selection of artists for the organization’s exhibitions in future. Aside from this factor the exercise is meant to bring in fresh perspectives. Artists are recommended to…

Efficient Paypal alternative(s) required for Zimbabwe and Africa to benefit from ecommerce transactions

As the Zimbabwean economy continues on a downward spiral, conducting business in the country has not been getting any easier. There is high unemployment in the country, the cost of conducting business is high and there is low liquidity within the financial sector.  The Central bank’s capacity to influence money supply is very limited since it cannot print money…

My first month in stone sculpting (An overview of stone sculpturing in Zimbabwe)

If someone is to ask me what I think of stone sculptures from Zimbabwe, I would say “Educative, inspiring, amazing and creative”, all wrapped up in one place.  I would like to think it all started in the stone-age era and unknown to the founders of stone carving, the art form has grown and continued…

Zimbabwean Bank Service Fees hindering money supply within the formal banking economy

I remember my first bank account was a Kiddy Bank account with the then Zimbank. This was around 1992 when I was still in Primary school. My father helped me to open the account on my birthday because he wanted me to learn early how to save and manage money. Eventually I forgot about it as…

How to take care of your stone sculpture (Stone Sculpture Restorations)

As part of the last artistic production process, stone sculptures are polished at times with usually floor wax to give that shinny gloss finish. With time the sculpture begins to lose its shine and have scratches if poorly handled. This process is natural and inevitable. It is even faster if the sculpture is outdoors and…

History of Zimbabwe Shona stone sculpturing

Stone sculpturing in Zimbabwe is one of the oldest forms of artistic expression. It is also referred to as Shona stone sculpturing. This is so because one of the oldest notable forms of artworks is the stone-carved Zimbabwe Bird. The stone carving is the national emblem of Zimbabwe, appearing on the national flag and coat…

The Creative Hand exhibition

During the month of November, Simbarashe Samukange successfully curated an exhibition of works done by him at the Chitungwiza Arts Centre. This was in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Science (Honors) Degree in Fine Arts which he is studying at the Chinhoyi University of Technology. Skills, knowledge and experience in photography,…

HIV/AIDS Vaccination trial volunteer program

A delegation from the Seke South Clinic visited the Chitungwiza Arts Centre requesting for HIV negative volunteers to participate in an HIV/AIDS vaccination trial volunteer program. The programme is sponsored by the UZ-UCSF Collaborative Research Programme MI Robicides Project. The visiting team was lead by Ms Chihota as the presenter. The program is part of…