Zimbabwe

^{Posted on Friday, 26th October, 2007}

PABVUTE OPENS EXHIBITION

^{By Martin Chemhere mchemhere@yahoo.com}

^{One of Zimbabwe’s newest cultural arts organizations called Pabvute Visual Arts Space on Tuesday 23 October 2007 made a resounding entry into the art scene with their debut exhibition featuring some of the leading artists in the country. Running from 24 October to end of November 2007 at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the show comprises a variety of works by 8 top artists in the media of sculpture, installation, wood, clay, metal, mixed media, paintings and photography.}

^{Cultural organization Culture Fund Trust of Zimbabwe sponsors the show, which is titled Tsanzo Dzepunduko, or means of success, a reference to the encouragement directed at the local visual arts. Tsanzo could be interpreted as skills, methods, ways… “Punduko” is change for the better, crossing over, resumption or establishment of a base upon which all success will be built on.}

^{A gender-balanced list of the participating artists includes Semina Mpofu, Calvin Dondo,  Chikonzero Chazunguza, Odiola Vurinosara, John Magaya, Tendai Gumbo, Cosmos Shiridzinomwa and Samxele Mhlaba. All these artists have won awards in their careers spanning over a 100 years of visual art and design creativity.} 

^{Formed in July 2006 by Calvin Dondo and Chikonzero “Chiko” Chazunguza, two of the country’s leading visual artists, Pabvute’s aims, among other things, to promote local visual arts through establishing gallery space where artists will showcase works of art that is not too commercial and with a Zimbabwean voice. The other reason was that lots of artists were working in isolation, as most had no organized working space, in particular painters, photographers and multimedia artists.} 

^{“We felt that there was a void left by other galleries. Our coming will see this gap being filled for the benefit of the local visual arts sector that has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. We will network with local art authorities and artists and coordinate and select their original works for memorable exhibitions”, said Calvin Dondo who has distinguished himself worldwide in the field of photography.}  

^{His business partner Chikonzero Chazunguza said that the organization will put emphasis on art that speaks about identity, and the need to redefine the local art and its meaning. “We need a type of art that looks at Zimbabweans in a new approach and thus be able to redefine ourselves as a contemporary artistic people. We want to portray ourselves as a people with a unique art that is proudly Zimbabwean while it reflects a certain dignity and African well being.”}

^{“We have as our mission the aim to work with both emerging and established artists who create original and non-commercial works of art expressing strong hints of African belonging and identity”, he said.}

 ^{“We have selected artists on the basis that they are not only popular artists but they represent the new art ear in Zimbabwe. We are looking at art that has some form of or the necessary identity that we would like to see developing. We like these artists’ thinking or that the art they create challenges the stereotype”, said the art lecturer and visual artist. .}

^{Some of the participating artists have commented on the show: “Tsanzo Dzepunduko has presented the opportunity to express our challenge and most importantly the spirit within”, said Tendai Gumbo.}

^{Odiola Vurinosara: “Very often in life success is measured through accolades …….. I believe real success can be measured during the creation process, in the locker rooms and on the drawing boards where the mistakes are made and erased. Skill reaches a climax when the creator is unafraid to be laughed at or to be called lazy. It’s in the washrooms where we clean up our mess.}

^{Pabvute Visual Arts Space’s birth, especially its vision to set up its own exhibiting space in the capital city will rekindle old memories of the late 80s and early 90s when the city bustled with several vibrant galleries offering unlimited space to the visual arts scene.}

^{The organization’s other aim is to represent and promote some of Zimbabwe’s most creative visual artists as a complement to the duties being already being played national and private galleries.}  

^{Pabvute Visual Art Space is an independent cultural arts entity whose vision is to champion and progress the essence of contemporary visual arts voices in Zimbabwe while exposing them to an outside audience.}

^{Pabvute, in chiShona, one of the major local languages in Zimbabwe means “in the shade”. Craftsmen and women have always worked in the shade especially under trees, thus in the comfort of the shade. Being in the shade is normally used as a metaphor for sitting pretty, hence the appropriateness of this name in relationship to the environment we are creating for the artists.}  

^{The worthwhile art show comes at a time when the tourism industry authorities are calling for the creation of ideas that have potential to usher vibrancy into the sector.}

^{Pabvute Visual Arts Space has heeded the call and would like the cultural tourism industry to be respected alongside the mainstream attractions through projects of this magnitude.}

^{This is in real terms, a great visual art show not to miss, judging from the names on the exhibition list.}

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