Modern and contemporary Zimbabwean art

The rise of modern Zimbabwean sculpture

• The National Gallery (opened in Salisbury, now Harare, in 1957) under its first director Frank McEwen encouraged African artists through the Workshop School in the late 1950s and 1960s.
• Tengenenge sculpture community (founded in 1966 by Tom Blomefield on a farm near Guruve) provided a place for many sculptors to work.
• Stone sculpture (serpentine, springstone, verdite, opal stone) gained international recognition from the 1960s onward; first-generation sculptors include Joram Mariga, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Henry Munyaradzi, John Takawira and Sylvester Mubayi.
• Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare showcased stone sculpture.

Painting and printmaking

Painters such as Thomas Mukarobgwa (Workshop School) and later artists working in painting, printmaking and mixed media; institutions such as the BAT Workshop School, the Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre in Bulawayo, and Gallery Delta.

Contemporary practice

Installation, photography, video, performance and digital art; themes of identity, land, history, urban life, migration and the environment; Zimbabwe's participation in international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale.

Issues

Authenticity and the "airport art" debate, the market and tourism, mentorship and patronage, gender representation among artists, and arts funding.

Check yourself

1. In what year did the National Gallery open in Harare (then Salisbury)?
2. Who founded the Tengenenge sculpture community?
3. Name two stones used in Zimbabwean sculpture.