Past Events

EVENTS:

THE AFRICA MILLENNIUM FOUNDATION A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF THE STONE SCULPTURE IN LONDON UK IN JUNE 2006

To amass sculptures from various sources for an exhibition which effectively documents and pieces together the history of the tradition of stone sculpture in Zimbabwe and highlighting those artists who have at various times taken the tradition to another level is a challenge to any gallerist or organisation. The Africa Millennium Foundation a Durban based organisation has done just that in a definitive retrospective exhibition of the stone sculpture with some early works borrowed from the British Museum. This an exhibition which brings the tradition up to date and makes it on a par with any innovative development in sculpture in the international art world through the sculpture of Dominic Benhura who Africa Millennium Foundation term the most avant garde artist in Africa. Dominic now explores the presence and meaning of sculpture in a new way, using stone, painting, light, water and shadows, in sculptures dealing with time and space and place. Dominic will be present at this exhibition in late June.

Previously the Africa Millennium Foundation has exhibited the work of women sculptors, their criteria for selection being the quality and calibre of the work with no concession to the gender of the artists. Now they have embarked on a new Odyssey and one, which will greatly benefit the presence of the stone sculpture in the international art arena.

FRIENDS FOREVER, RUWA ZIMBABWE - A HUMANE APPROACH TO ZIMBABWE´S SCULPTORS

Friends Forever a Danish based organisation operating from Ruwa in Zimbabwe has a humane approach to sculptors. In addition to, within a very short period of time arranging exhibitions, through collaboration with partners in the civic, museum and commercial arena in cities such as Barcelona, Vienna, Moscow and Atlanta, Friends Forever look to the provision of heath care and pensions for sculptors. Under the able Chairpersonship of Sune Joergensen a conductor of classical music from Copenhagen, Friends Forever has jumped other gallerists and promoters through an initially global approach to their operation. Many sculptors in the Harare high density are associated with Friends Forever and sculptors Mike Munyaradzi and Lawrence Mukomberanwa are on the Board. As a container of sculptures leaves Zimbabwe it is given a rousing send off at Mike Munyaradzi´s farm in Ruwa. Often at these send offs there are talks on Aids prevention and primary health care.

WITTEN GERMANY - JUNE 2006 STONE SCULPTURE COMPETES WITH WORLD CUP AND WINS

In Witten Germany Bastian Muller the young Director of Shona Art, each year stages a Festival in the gardens of Schloss Steinhausen. Witten is an elegant town with Palladian architecture and an industrial past recognised by collieries, blast furnaces and mine shafts. Bastian Muller, coming to Zimbabwe each year and supporting the development of a school in Gokwe, places in the luxurious garden of the castle, the work of older and younger sculptors in happy alliance.

The core activities of the Festival are marathon concerts by top Zimbabwean musicians, the exhibition of stone sculpture, and workshops given by sculptor Merchers Chiwawa formerly of the Tengenenge Sculpture Community in Guruve. The Festival in June 2006 saw the launch of the book in English and German Following the Footsteps of Wisdom The Sculptures of Merchers Chiwawa by Celia Winter Irving and a huge turn out of families and top brass from Witten with their well kept dogs on elegant leads, and gallerists from all over Germany paying tribute to Bastian Muller in keeping people engaged and interested in the best from Zimbabwe at the height of the World Cup in Germany. Here was Tom Blomefield Founder Director of Tengenenge, eighty years old, dancing with the best of them, here were twenty nine people from Witten with their coach Chiwawa, scoring goals with their stones, making good sculptures in record time. Bastian Muller has created an essentially social ambience for the sculptures to be seen, on a day out for families and couples, there is restaurant with fine food and beers, a grassy and safe area for children to play and a chance for anyone to take a stone and make something of it.

EMBASSY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN GERMANY A CULTURAL ACTIVIST FOR ZIMBABWE JUNE 2006

The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Zimbabwe and the Ambassador Jaroslav Olsa Jnr. have forged enduring linkages in the fields of literature and the visual arts between Zimbabwe and the Republic and recognised synergies between the literary and artistic traditions of both countries. The Ambassador has spearheaded a huge exhibition of the stone sculpture, which will open in Prague the week beginning June 27 at venues including a Botanic Gardens and the National Gallery in Prague. To pre-empt local interest in this exhibition among the Diplomatic Community in Zimbabwe, the Ambassador on June 20 held an exhibition of stone sculpture by young sculptor Lovemore Bonjisi in the garden of the Embassy in Harare.

Lovemore Bonjisi aged twenty-one, the brother of the late Lameck Bonjisi, known for the power, grandeur and romantic mien of his sculptures. Lovemore at a young age adds something extra to the tradition of stone sculpture as it currently stands. His work is out and out beautiful, he captures the iridescence of opal stone, the variegated colours of springstone. Using long flowing lines and curves he creates women in stone, which could come from a Pre Raphaelite painting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. There is no reference to the current social ills of Zimbabwe; the sculpture is airy and light of heart and a pleasure to the eye. The garden setting offset the beauty of the stone and the natural lines of the sculpture and recognised the ability of Lovemore to lend grace and elegance to the stone sculpture in a unique way.

THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA A COMPETITION FOR THE SCULPTORS OF THE TENGENENGE SCULPTURE COMMUNITY TO BE JUDGED ON JUNE 24 2006

The Republic of Korea is conscious of its spiritual history much in the manner of Zimbabwe. Those from the Republic of Korea are attracted to the stone sculpture; it strikes a chord and is much loved. The Republic of Korea in 2005 organised a competition for sculptors at Tengenenge Sculpture Community in Guruve, which today is undergoing successful cultural transformation and at the same time upholding the social values inherent in traditional beliefs and their ceremonious elements. At Tengenenge often the individuality of a sculptor´s work is submerged by the setting and allocation of space, and the Korean Embassy´s choice of a wide open space next to the Tengenenge Museum for the display of winning sculptors work is a concession to the need for the Tengenenge Sculptors to be recognised as individual sculptors as much as Tengenenge Sculptors. In June 2006 the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Zimbabwe hosts a second competition for Tengenenge Sculptors including prizes for women and children. The judges will be The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Zimbabwe Ambassador Pak, Celia Winter Irving and Steve Blomefield, Managing Director of the Tengenenge Sculpture Community.

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