Friends of the Gallery (F.O.G)

Friends of the Gallery monthly newsletter

July 2010

I hope I find you well and it’s an exciting time for many as we approach the end of the winter season. For the month of July not many activities took place but we embraced our last moments with the now ended Live and Direct exhibition which had been on display for two and a half months. Rated as one of the best exhibitions the Gallery has held, the show received a huge attendance with visitors coming from as far as Brazil, England and Australia.

In August the Gallery will be hosting the annual Gwanza Month of Photography under the theme Women Trajectories. According to the Gwanza team the motivation behind this year’s theme is that ‘….. the 2010 World Cup soccer was a special event which marked the birth of African renaissance. It unveiled the potential opportunities of interaction for a diverse range of different cultures. Therefore, Gwanza would like to celebrate this historical event by showcasing the best of contemporary African photography, which tends to shun the overrepresented subjects and concepts we already know, hence the theme for this year is ‘Women Trajectories’.

National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare would like to inform people that their OFFER SALE is still on till the 7th of August 2010. For all your garden, home, office and presents shopping at low prices visit Mutare Gallery now. Your support towards the gallery will go a long way in supporting our artists in their work. Mutare looks forward to your visit if you have not done so and to all who have already visited Mutare keep coming back as the Gallery keeps thanking you for your support.

Volume 3 Issue 1 of the Artlife magazine is now out and all FOG members are being kindly asked to collect a copy at the National Gallery. All those who would want to acquire a copy they can purchase one for US$2 at the Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare Galleries. The Gallery now also has a weekly column in The Herald newspaper titled ‘At the Gallery’ which publishes articles on visual art written by seasoned writers. This column is featured every Monday in the entertainment section.

The 6th and 7th will see the Gallery celebrating its August Days of the Month with a hive of activities that include an exhibition by Speciss College under the theme ‘Ten years of fine art’. Various artifacts will be on display including paintings on paper, fabrics and drawings. This exhibition will highlight what school going children are capable of producing at the same time enlightening other schools to take up art as a subject. The Speciss College exhibition will be officially opened on the 6th and the public is welcome to view the new talent on the 7th of August. For music lovers, the Chitungwiza Harmony Singers will be performing a benefit concert which starts at 5:30pm.

Please find attached a programme of educational activities taking place in August.