2007-11-27
“Archetype Heads”, sculpture by Helen Lieroos. “Our thirsty land”, mixed media by Gillian Rosellini.
Zimbabwe’s artists sneak along
While Zimbabwe increasingly shuts itself off from the world around, political art is flourishing beneath the surface.
- Art is one of the few arenas in which criticism of the regime is possible, claims Manuel Bagorro, artistic director of HIFA, the Harare International Festival of the Arts.
In February 2007 Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe celebrated his 83rd birthday. The leaders of his own party presented him with a stuffed crocodile, a symbol of wisdom and intelligence. A news agency telegram reported in the same week that there was no bread left in most of the capital Harare’s shops.
Ten years ago Zimbabwe, situated between Mozambique and Botswana, was the great hope of the African continent. Since then, the president’s increasingly unpredictable leadership has driven the country to the edge of disaster. Inflation is currently rated at 1 600% - the highest in the world. Unemployment is at 80%.
Fifth HIFA festival
In this country with very limited freedom of speech and a divided opposition they are currently preparing for the fifth edition of the Harare International Festival of the Arts. Attempting to interview the festival’s artistic director Manuel Bagorro illustrates the circumstances for people working in the country. Reaching him by phone is like winning on the lottery and constant power failures shut down all computer traffic for hours at a time, making e-mail equally problematic. After a week of fruitless attempts we finally established contact.
Unique in Africa
“Following independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was unique in Africa”, Manuel explains. “The optimism of the early years led to a flowering of art and other culture. Many artists who had been living in exile moved home again. They brought with them expertise and masses of inspiration from the West. This was an enormously productive period with even popular culture finding a new public. Now the opposite obtains. Many skilled people in the arts are moving out, principally for financial reasons.”
Hidden message
In a society in which all forms of opposition are suppressed, political art still flourishes, Manuel explains. “The fact is that theatre and the visual arts are the only arenas that remain for expressing anger and frustration at Mugabe. The messages are often hidden or encoded but they are perfectly clear to the public.”
Zimbabwe has shut itself off from the world around it in recent years. Has this influenced artists in their work?
“Absolutely. Things have become much more difficult for everyone. Organizations that have been in existence for 15 years or more now find it difficult to carry on. Assets in various funds are shrinking and artists spend most of their time trying to survive financially.
Cannot express just anything
“It is a matter of sneaking along. One can not express just anything.” Addelis Sibutha, head of the art gallery in Bulawayo, informs me. Bulawayo is the second city in Zimbabwe and the provincial capital of Matabeleland in the south of the country. This interview is also difficult to set up. When an e-mail from her with answers to our questions finally turns up it has spent 48 hours in the cable networks.
The National Gallery in Bulawayo is one of few art institutions in southern Africa that has established a reputation in Europe. This is largely due to the former director, Yvonne Vera, who was also a successful author. She died in 2003.
Difficult to work internationally
The sanctions against Zimbabwe and the country’s poor reputation abroad makes it difficult for the gallery to work with international exhibitions. Instead, they focus on local and regional matters, presenting artists from Bulawayo and Matabeleland. They also put a lot of resources into travelling exhibitions with a view to reaching new groups of people beyond the city. In this way they also discover new talents who, in due course, are able to exhibit their work.
“The gallery stretches across many boundaries: age, gender, skin colour and social standing. Formerly this was an enclave for a white upper class. That is no longer the case. Nowadays everyone is equally welcome.”
Painting develops most
The internationally best-know artworks from Zimbabwe are the stone sculptures that were produced by the Shona people, the dominant tribe in Zimbabwe. During the 1960s many of these sculptors oriented themselves towards Western influence with regard to expression and subject matter. The Shona sculptures still play an important role even if many people consider that the artistic quality of the work has declined in recent years.
Painting is the art form that has developed most, Manuel Bagorro points out. And this is not least because of the financial situation. “We have witnessed several adventurous experiments with installations and conceptual art. An interest, for example, in how art installations can be used to raise political issues is intense. Many artists are interested in multimedia – video art and computer graphics, etc. – but there is neither the right training available here nor the necessary equipment.”
Lack of materials a hindrance
Lack of materials is a hindrance for most of Zimbabwe’s artists. Even when such items as paint, canvases and other necessities are available there are few artists who can afford them. “But the lack of materials also stimulates ingenuity. Many artists have started working with scrap materials and found objects” Addelis Sibutha tells me.
HIV, aids, poverty, unemployment and hyperinflation – these are important subjects for many of the artists exhibiting at the National Gallery in Bulawayo. But so are the extraordinary human warmth and generosity people show each other in spite of Zimbawe’s difficulties. “It is not an attractive story. It is a matter of suffering. Many artists seek comfort in their work. They give expression to hope and the struggle for change. They are looking for a new way of working, a life.”
Mårten Janson
Swedish Travelling Exhibitions