The partnership between the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare and the Institute of Allied Arts has existed, been developed and strengthened over many years. On an annual basis, the Allied Arts Visual Arts Schools Exhibition is organized by the committee of the National Institute of Allied Arts in partnership with the National Gallery who host the exhibition and hang the artworks accordingly. This exhibition promotes and gives exposure to the best 2 dimensional artworks, sculptures and installation works produced by individual students and groups ranging from the pre-school years through until the sixth form. Junior schools and senior schools throughout Zimbabwe participate on an annual basis.

Up to 2000 artworks are entered by various schools, of which approximately 700 of the best are exhibited. A different theme is put together every year to try and inspire creative responses and fire the imagination of the students. This year the theme is “Earth Matters”, and the categories focus on subject matter such as Under Water, Water Sources, Fire, Wind and Rain and Water as a life giving element for the junior schools. Senior schools have been given more thought provoking subject matter that include Planet Earth, Inner Earth, Historical Earth and Mapping Earth in the hope that the artworks would be more open ended and challenging the imaginative.

We have received some excellent artworks this year and the top performers never cease to amaze us. This year we have also encouraged the use of the humble pencil to try and encourage the improvement of drawing skills and to encourage students from schools with less funding to take this opportunity to participate in a national exhibition. One of the prize winners this year is one such student.

The Exhibition also serves as a forum to encourage creativity in schools, to reward excellence and give schools the opportunity to view work from other schools and see the different ways in which the subject is approached. This year we give thanks and are very grateful to the US Embassy who supports the Visual Arts and has sponsored all the prizes for the various prizewinners in each category.

This is an exhibition not to be missed. It holds something for everybody, from the uninhibited and colorful creative explorations of the junior school participants, to the more thought provoking and resolved artworks from the senior schools. The exhibition opens on the 9th of October 2010.

Val Shaw
Festival Director in the Visual Arts Section
National Institute of Allied Arts