By Rutendo Mutadzapasi. In-house Correspondence.

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is proud to announce the appointment of Raphael Chikukwa as the Gallery’s Curator. He joins the National Gallery in a management capacity after the last curator Heeten Bhagat in 2008. Mr. Chikukwa holds an MA Curating in Contemporary Design from Kingston University in London. He was awarded a British Council Chevening Scholarship in 2006 – 2007 and he is proud to be back in the country to share his curatorial experience. He is a Scholar/Fellow at Kingston University doing his PhD in Curation of International Contemporary Art.

His keenness to reclaim Zimbabwe ’s position in the global art arena awarded him a curatorial travel grant in 2006 by the American Centre Foundation. The travel grant gave Chikukwa an opportunity to travel to West Africa in 2008, meeting artists and curators in that part of Africa. In 2008 Raphael was part of the Art Basel Miami Conversations, he also at that time co-organized a research visit by a Nigerian Artist/Curator Ozioma Onzulike to UK with Visiting Arts in 2008. Chikukwa is also involved with Kingston University in co organizing African Curatorial visit to London through Kingston Project Africa. So far two African emerging curators have benefited namely Gabi Ngcobo (South Africa) and James Muriuki (Kenya). He is also a founding member and adviser for Creative Africa Network which is a PUMA Vision project. The Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Mr. Tapfuma Gutsa who has worked with Mr Chikukwa before said, "We have a new dynamic in the place and soon or later our team will become more complete to take the visual arts to new heights."

Chikukwa brings in his international experience in curating contemporary art and his scholarship.  It is in his hope that his coming to the National Gallery of Zimbabwe will change the visual arts landscape of Zimbabwe. He has curated a number of exhibitions in Zimbabwe and in the United Kingdom as an Independent Curator. Some of the major exhibitions include; Harare International Festival of the Arts exhibitions from the year 2000 up to 2004, Visions of Zimbabwe at the Manchester Art Gallery 2004 and African Heroes Imperial War Museum North 2006.

African Heroes exhibition was an eye opener to the international audience about the contribution by African Veterans during the First and Second World War, whereas Visions of Zimbabwe was a landmark exhibition which brought together cutting edge Zimbabwean artists and writers that included, Tapfuma Gutsa, Berry Bickle, Chikonzero Chazunguza, Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, David Brazier, Grace Mutandwa to mention but a few.

Chikukwa was behind the “1st and 2nd Breaking the Boundaries”: International Art Critic Forum in 2003 and 2004 at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe during HIFA. “Breaking the Boundaries saw a number of international critics from Flash Art Magazine visiting Zimbabwe. This man can be best described as a bridge between Zimbabwe and the International art community. He has taken part in a number of Contemporary Art Forums in Senegal, South Africa, Italy, Kenya, Botswana, Switzerland, Austria, England, France, USA, and in the Africa Remix Forum at the Centre Pompidou in 2005. More over, he was one of the volunteer guides to work for the inaugural Johannesburg Biennale and the subsequent edition.

The Gallery is privileged to have a Curator who is superbly acquainted with the arts and it is with great hope that new and better exhibitions will be seen at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. As a critical thinker Chikukwa has bigger projects in mind. His connection with a wider international contemporary art is an added advantage. In his own words Chikukwa proudly said, “Joining the National Gallery of Zimbabwe means a lot to me, first and foremost, I am a proud Zimbabwean whose passion is to see and contribute to the Zimbabwean Contemporary Art and curatorial practice.” Like that is not enough, I would want to contribute to the visibility of the Zimbabwean Contemporary Art Globally”.

“It is also my hope that the existing dynamic team at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean community will help us achieve this dream”. For the business community, the art community, media, our board members, Friends of the gallery (FOG), politicians, our general audience, NGO, Embassies, schools, Universities and our emerging artists, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe is willing to engage with all of you”.