Speech for Prof. Luc Rukingama

The Executive Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, members of the Board, the Curator, members of the Diplomatic Corp, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen…..

It is an honour for me to be here this evening as the chosen speaker to open the exhibition Beyond Borders: Re-questioning development and challenges in contemporary art practice in East and Southern Africa, an exhibition curated by Raphael Chikukwa. Beyond Borders questions as well as celebrates our differences as people. It is through events like HIFA we get a platform to observe our tangible and tangible cultures through different acts.

For over a decade now, UNESCO has partnered with the Harare International Festival of the Arts in the organization of the festival each year. During the past two years, UNESCO has focused specifically on support towards exposure of visual arts during the festival. The major objective has been to provide a platform for marginalized Zimbabwean visual artists to showcase their products at such an internationally acclaimed festival. This year UNESCO has decided to go a step further and in collaborated with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, HIFA and Botswana Department of Culture to ensure that the visual arts programme also benefits artists from the Eastern and Southern African region. As you will see from the works on display the exhibition is a clear testimony of UNESCO’s commitment towards the development of the art practice and Zimbabwe could become an important crossroad of new contemporary artistic impulses.

As the only UN Agency with the specific mandate on culture, UNESCO ensures that cultural diversity becomes a driving force of development, not only in respect of economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. This is captured in the seven culture conventions, which provide a solid basis for the promotion of cultural diversity. Many years of research undertaken by UNESCO on the functions and values of cultural expressions and practices have opened the door to new approaches to the understanding, protection and respect of the cultural heritage of humanity.

Strengthening the contribution of culture to sustainable development is a goal that was launched in connection with the World Decade for Cultural Development from 1988 to1998. To this end, the organization is committed to the safeguarding and promotion of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as supporting the development of creative industries.

With these words I now declare this exhibition officially opened