Returning to early Conversations

The history of contemporary art in Zimbabwe stretches way back before the dream of opening an art gallery. In the 1930s and 1940s early mission schools such as Serima Mission and Cyrene Mission by Cannon Peterson had already adapted a curriculum in apprenticing young boys who carved biblical figures and murals for the decoration of churches in their own African style.

Serima Mission in Chatsworth along Gutu road, was founded by Father John Groeber who taught half a dozen of school boys. They started on elementary artwork with materials that were immediately available locally. Father Groeber had remarkable results from this workshop as far as drawing and carving skills were concerned and as can be seen today at Silveira Primary School. Between 1956 and 1959 the students used the acquired skill to decorate their church at Serima. In 1949, the works of a disabled Cyrene student Sam Songo appeared in the London exhibition which toured Britain for two years and one of his piece is in the exhibition currently at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Several more artists of note emerged from these centers notably Tapfuma Gutsa, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Gabriel Hatugari, Lazarus Khumalo and   Cornelio Manguma.With the opening of the National Gallery of then Rhodesia, contemporary Zimbabwean art was born where it was nurtured to become the successful contemporary art movement today. In 1957, the inaugural opening exhibition of the National Gallery of Rhodesia ‘From Rembrandt to Picasso’ saw no local works exhibited but consisted of works on loan from the world’s most prestigious Galleries such as the Louvre, Tate Modern and the Musee Rodin in Paris. Thereafter and for the first time in 1958 the National Gallery welcomed local artists and designers to showcase their work to the public at the first Annual Federal Art Exhibition. With the following annual exhibitions held, Zimbabwean art witnessed the birth and uncovering of early masters such as Tubayi Dube, Job Kekana, and Tom Maybank, a group of artists put together for comparison and for the determination of styles and directions born from the complex influences in a growing country.

The dream of a Workshop School came to form under the leadership of the first Executive Director of the National Gallery Frank McEwen in 1962. McEwen’s Workshop School of ‘Shona Sculptures’ provided materials for exhibitions and helped the Gallery stage shows overseas from 1968-1972.  He also encouraged and provided materials for Gallery staff to produce art, which encouraged Paul Gwichiri and Nicholas Samhokore to sculpt artworks that were later donated to the Gallery and sold in the Sales Shop. The art from the Workshop was based on the spiritual culture and dreams of the artists as can be seen in pieces like the tsuro, baboon and chapungu. The Gallery Workshop School was a place of lively activity with Chris Chabuka and Joseph Ndandarika whose works are also on exhibition joined the group of painters. Boira Mteki, Tubayi Dube and Pitias Gwinisia were carving powerful heads and figures in sandstone and white marble. In 1964 the Commonwealth Festival of Arts in London welcomed participants from Zimbabwe such as Thomas Mukarobgwa, Kingsley Sambo, Charles Fernando and Marshall Baron who were at the time beginning to attract serious attention.
In the 1960s, the talent of Joram Mariga was recognized at Vhukutu Art Centre in Nyanga. He was an agricultural field worker who carved small representational heads and functional objects from local stone. Joram through the mentorship of McEwen diverted his attention to carving the spirits of the ancestors, something that was unique about Zimbabwean art. Mariga matured to become one of the most significant Zimbabwean artists and introduced other artists to the Nyanga area. In the same decade in 1966 Tom Blomefield turned his tobacco fields into an art centre where he taught his workers handicrafts. His students of many ethnic groups and traditions took sculpting enthusiastically and began to produce original and fresh African art.
The works of these and other artists which currently occupy the space in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe are a reflection of the original and imaginative talent of Zimbabwean artists and seeks to narrate the growth of an industry from small indigenous settlements. Most of the early works on exhibition resembles the maturity, confidence, ability to create narratives and the techniques used by artists. So much is expressed in one work, so many incidents exposed and so many stories are told.  These missionary initiatives did not only happen in Zimbabwe but across the continent. In South Africa there was the Rockers Drift Art centre, Margaret Tharwel in Uganda and many others in Nigeria. The role played by the missionaries in the development of contemporary art in Africa is still open for discussion and this exhibition is yet another way to take this discussion to another level.