It gives me a great sense of honour and pride to address this august gathering on the occasion of “African Cultures in Focus 2010†—Zimbabwe Culture Week and the Exhibition of Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture, especially when this Exhibition of Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture is held in a foreign land.
At the outset however please would you accept our condolences with regard to the loss of life and suffering which has taken place this week in Gansu Province, indeed not far from here, as a result of the flood and mud slide which hit on Saturday. I know I speak on behalf of the whole nation of Zimbabwe when I say how sorry we are that this tragedy has befallen your people at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and also the rescue teams.
This Exhibition clearly shows how the great nation of the People’s Republic of China values Zimbabwean culture and in particular our Sculpture. For that, I would like to pay tribute to the people of the People’s Republic of China and congratulate them for successfully organizing the Zimbabwe Culture Week and this Exhibition.
I am also excited to be part of this gathering because Zimbabwe is participating at this Exhibition for the first time ever. Zimbabwe’s participation here further strengthens and broadens the bilateral relations in the arts and culture that exist between our two great nations. Politically and economically, our two countries have been cooperating since the days of Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence and self determination. However, the area of culture has not been taken seriously as we witness today.
The country’s name, Zimbabwe means the House of Stone. The Great Zimbabwe structures located near Masvingo—one of Zimbabwe’s five cities-were built from beautifully and skillfully sculptured stones. So the country has a strong legacy of stone carving tradition.
As a result of this stone carving tradition, stone carving skills are very well developed in my country. Taking cognisance of this, the white minority government of that time opened a National Gallery in 1957 that provided a welcome stimulus to the then present and would-be sculptors. From then on sculpture began to take root in the country. The National Gallery did a great deal to market the work of artists in sculpture during the 1960s and 1970s.
By the time of the attainment of Independence in 1980, a number of excellent sculptors existed in the country and their acclaim was such that Zimbabwe was at that time identified as the home of 4 out of 5 of the best sculptors in the world. By then the most successful and sought after sculptors included brothers John and Bernard Takawira, Bernard Matemera, Henry Munyaradzi and Nicholas Mukomberanwa among others.
These artists produced innovative and ground-breaking work for many years while taking time also to pass on their skills and expertise to a younger generation. As a result many publications were produced analyzing and interrogating their works while, at the same time, the works were being shown all over the world to continue critical acclaim. Generally the works focused on ontological themes that explored traditional life and beliefs. These works were largely well finished, polished and compact in form.
From the nineteen eighties a new younger breed of sculptors began to take centre stage. Most of these artists had received informal training from established artists and they began to produce new work making use of the abundant stone deposits in the country as raw materials. However, their work was more secular in nature and more concerned with social issues and the transition that was taking place from the traditional African world outlook to a modern one that draws on diverse subject matters and even culture. This generation of artists received little formal training and include such artists as Tapfuma Gutsa, Joseph Muzondo, Brighton Sango, Colleen Madamombe among others.
Although the nature of the production is largely a male preserve several female sculptors have established a niche in this field producing works that represent softer and more feminine imagery while exploring female issues such as various roles that women play in society. Artists like Agnes Nyanhongo and the late Colleen Madamombe have put the female sculptors firmly on the map.
It should be noted, however, that stone sculpture has changed over the last ten years with the introduction of other materials alongside the use of stone. These are mixed media sculptures.
Let me conclude, Ladies and Gentlemen, by thanking the People’s Republic of China for inviting me to this exhibition, the organisers of this event, the artists who produced these pieces of work, the exhibitors and the general public who have come to see the works for without them the event would have been a non event.
Zimbabwe has been a negative brand for the last few decades because of our internal political turmoil. With the advent of the new transitional government in February 2009, we are trying to create a new positive brand for Zimbabwe. Our art has always been a constructive and positive feature of our society and so its promotion internationally is a critical component of this rebranding exercise. Accordingly, events such as this exhibition go way beyond art and culture and are an important step in assisting us stabilize and rebuild Zimbabwe, just as you have done in your great nation since 1978.
I trust that the Zimbabwe Culture Week and 2010 Exhibition of Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture will be a great success and that it will further strengthen relations between our Nations.
I thank you