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…
Tom Blomefield (95) one of the initiators and pioneering promoters of contemporary Zimbabwe Shona sculpture has died in Holland. Blomefield who founded Tengenenge Art Community at his farm in Guruve in 1966 died on Wednesday morning. In a statement on facebook, his son Stephen Blomefield said his father will be sorely missed by tens of…
The U.S. Embassy Harare ambassador, Brian A. Nichols heaped praises on contemporary sculptor Gideon Gomo calling him the most important sculptor in Zimbabwe. Speaking at the official opening of Nhungo, Gomo’s solo exhibition at Village Unhu on Thursday, Ambassador Nichols said Gomo is creating art that is really speaking to the moment in Zimbabwe and he is…
Born as the 7th child in a family of 8, Issac Takavada was to be taught sculptor by his brother Percy Mukeda. Isaac once had a stint with the famous Chapungu Gallery but he is now based at the Canon Patterson Çrafts Center, Mbare, Harare. According to him the sculptors at the cooperative make a…
We managed to get the behind the scenes processes related to making Shona Sculpture from Felix Mlungisi a contemporary scupltor based at Chitungwiza Arts Centre. Check out the video to get the backstage story of the beautiful sculptures you love.
Working from his base at Chitungwiza Arts Centre, Isaac Choloka is a towering figure just like the massive sculptures he loves to carve. Choloka started off as a cartoonist. One of his big sculptures had been selected to be put up at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa but in an unfortunate twist of events the…
Simon Samhere is your typical Shona Sculpture who is true to the culture. He believes it’s his duty to remind Zimbabweans of their culture and traditions as most people have lost respect for their culture and have been swallowed up by Western culture. Simon was initiated into sculpture by his brother Caleb Samhere and the…
Martin Matimura is a bundle of energy and full of confidence. His story, a true from rags to riches type of tale. Martin chronicles how he started of as a gardner for Lameck Bonjisi, becoming his assistant and finally his manager and confidant. With the death of Lameck Bonjisi, Martin decided to become his own man…
The Canon Paterson Craft Center in Mbare is an artists cooperative established in 1973. Currently, it has a membership of fifty artists who work from there. According to sculptor Chamunorwa Manyore who is also the secretary for the center, the major problem facing the art collective is marketing. Manyore bemoans the dwindling number of tourists coming into…
Lawrence Arufaneti a sculptor working from the Canon Paterson Craft Centre in Mbare believes the quality of sculpture currently being produced in Zimbabwe is much better than it was back in the past. According to him the first generation sculptors used to do very simple pieces of sculpture unlike the new generation of contemporary sculptors…
Reality imitates art sometimes and other times art imitates reality as captured by oppressed/thoughtful an abstract sculpture by Edmore Sango. Sango believes quite a number of Zimbabweans are not so happy and they are always thoughtful because of the economic hardships. “The money they earn is not enough, they think a lot during month ends trying…
Personal Zenda is a stone sculptor based at Chitungwiza Arts Centre. He joined the Arts Centre in 2013 working as an assistant to Tamuka Njanji washing and polishing his sculptures. Now a sculptor himself, Percy as he is popularly known makes sculptures in the form of human and many other figurative creations. Percy believes that…
Government assistance in the form of grants or loans will go a long way in supporting artists according to Farai Tavengwa a sculptor from Chitungwiza. Farai believes the grants or loans will enable artists like him to purchase the necessary inputs required to invest back in their work.
Copy cats are a menace in the visual art scene and Ambrose Shambare does not hide his disdain for people who copy other peoples work. Despite copyright laws being present Ambrose does not see their effective implementation and accuses some buyers of fueling the scourge in an effort to pay less and short change original…
Renowned sculptor Dominic Benhura recently presented former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda with a stone sculpture in honour of his 93rd birthday. The founding father of the Republic of Zambia turned 93 on April 28 and was given the sculpture of a hand holding a white handkerchief, his trademark symbol for peace. Benhura combined black spring-stone…
Over the past few years, collectors of Shona Sculpture have seen the marked commercialisation of the art, which has left a number of ardent collectors and connoisseurs of the sweet art of taming stone confused. ‘If I am buying the stone for both its beauty and as a worthwhile investment, how do I know the…
Today, Picasso art-works seem to have transcended time as his works continue to be some of the most sought after pieces in the world by both collectors and investors. A little known fact until recently, was where Picasso garnered some of his inspiration. It may come as a surprise, but Picasso was most certainly influenced…