National Gallery of Zimbabwe 54th International Art
Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia 2011

The events that have taken place in Zimbabwe over the past ten years clearly indicate the need for a rare, thought-provoking, high-profile contemporary art exhibition. This exhibition will include newly commissioned works made specifically for the 54th Venice Biennale 2011. The Zimbabwean Pavilion is an important platform from which to discuss the issue of the representation of Contemporary African art. It is in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s interest to present such a powerful exhibition within this grand showcase of contemporary art. The Zimbabwean Pavilion will provide a rare opportunity to spark discussions on the contemporaneity of Zimbabwean art.

Our relationship with the British Council dates from the foundation of the National Gallery in 1957, when Frank McEwen, cultural attaché at the British Council in Paris, was appointed to be the Director of the new institution, then called the National Gallery of Rhodesia. The Directorship of Frank McEwen saw the National Gallery of Zimbabwe become a leading centre for contemporary African art in the 1960s, and his knowledge of European art benefited the National Gallery up to the present day.  In the 1980s sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa became the first Zimbabwean to be awarded a British Council Scholarship to study in London. Ten years later, one of Britain’s most renowned artists, Chris Ofili, was awarded a travel grant to Zimbabwe. This was a career-changing trip for the artist and it was while attending the Pachipamwe International Artists’ workshop in Zimbabwe that he first made use of animal dung – an important and infamous aspect of his practice.

A number of Zimbabwean arts practitioners have benefited in recent years from  British Council Chevening scholarships, including  Farai Mupfunya (Culture Fund Director), Rumbi Katedza and myself, to mention but a few.

Curator's short biography – Raphael Chikukwa

Chikukwa was born in Zimbabwe and has worked mainly as an independent curator for the past ten years before joining the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in mid-2010 as its Curator of Contemporary Art. His qualifications and international experience earned him this important position at the national institution, from which he hopes to change the visual arts landscape of Zimbabwe. Chikukwa was awarded the 2006 - 2007 Chevening Scholar and now holds an MA Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University London.

It was the second Johannesburg Biennale in 1997 which provided the impetus for Chikukwa’s curatorial career, after he worked as a volunteer guide for the Biennale. Chikukwa is a founding staff member of the PUMA funded Creative Africa Network, where he worked as an editor and advisor of the project from 2008 – 2009. Recently he was among seven curators from Africa attending the Tate Modern Symposium “Curating Africa”, where he presented a paper on his curatorial practice. In 2008, Chikukwa represented Africa at the 2008 Art Basel Miami Conversations in the United States of America. The American Centre Foundation also awarded him a curatorial research grant in 2006–2007, and he travelled in West Africa for his curatorial research.

Chikukwa has curated a number of exhibitions mainly in the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe and has taken part in a number of forums at the Dakar Biennale between 2004 and 2008. Some notable exhibitions include: Visions of Zimbabwe, 2004 (Manchester Art Gallery UK); African Heroes, 2006/2007 (Imperial War Museum North UK); Face to Face, 2004, (National Gallery of Zimbabwe /HIFA), and Siyaphambili, 2000 (National Gallery of Zimbabwe).

Chikukwa has also taken part in a number of international contemporary art forums in Austria, Botswana, Egypt, France, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America, and in his home country Zimbabwe. Chikukwa was also been part of the Africa Remix talk at the Centre Pompidou 2005 in Paris France. In Zimbabwe, he has coordinated a number of International Art Critic Forums at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe during HIFA, spanning 2000 to 2004. Raphael Chikukwa is searching for a way to re-engage the Zimbabwean contemporary art scene with the international art community.