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NGZ director Doreen Sibanda

At the Gallery
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe continues to shine as the Art Institution successfully hosted several commendable events last year. These include the 60th diamond jubilee celebration, the second International Conference on African Cultures several exhibitions and a tremendous success of the fourth Zimbabwe Pavilion.

Established in 1957, the National Gallery has completely become a force to reckon with as it is known as one of the best galleries on the continent with regard to infrastructure. Last year the Gallery was in a celebratory mood as the national institution turned 60 years. As part of the birthday celebrations a number of activities were lined up.

Of note were several portrait donations and of course the cocktail party which was held on Friday the 21st of July 2017. Portraits were donated to several organisations such as Jairosi Jiri, Mbuya Nehanda Maternity ward in Parirenyatwa group of hospitals, Dance Trust, Boka Tobacco Sales floor Securico amongst other.

Jairosi Jiri were handed over a portrait of the founder and president of Jairosi Jiri centre. The portrait was painted by Stanley Sibanda a Bulawayo artist. A portrait of Mathius Julius was handed over to Dance Trust Zimbabwe. The portrait painted by Leslie Johnson presented the personality of Mathius Julius as a dance icon.

A grand cocktail party was part of the birthday celebration. The party had a number of components which included, the launch of the Zimbabwe Art Book; renaming of the gallery spaces after significant local artists to continue their legacy for generations to come and to give them tribute; displaying and the selling of the Zimbabwe Heritage collection.

It also witnessed the launch of Unpacking the Vision: From Rembrandt to Mubayi which was a cutting edge exhibition that tapped into the Gallery’s Permanent Collection from the past to the present.

The same year witnessed the successful representation of Zimbabwe at the 57th Art exhibition in Venice Biennale. The four representatives which are Charles Bhebhe, Admire Kamudzengerere, Dana Whabira and Sylvester Mubayi transformed the Santa Maria della Pieta into a bona fide Zimbabwean art environment.

The Zimbabwe Pavilion commissioned by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s Executive Director Doreen Sibanda and curated by Deputy Director and Chief Curator Raphael Chikukwa will continue to advance Zimbabwean art and culture internationally.

As part of the jubilee celebration, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe revived the Second International Conference on African Cultures (ICAC) which was had last been held in its entirety fifty five years ago.

Over 60 speakers cultivated in different areas of expertise from across Africa were invited to deliver on topical issues.

Running under the theme Mapping the Future, the conference yielded fruitful discussions on the future of African Art and culture.

The event successfully brought together the Diaspora and the African continent. ICAC 2017 was of great importance to African art and culture.

The conference discussions and conversation had a positive impact on the Gallery as several issues of importance were raised on African art and culture in Africa.

Several exhibitions were hosted which included Mahatma in me exhibition Rock Art exhibition sponsored by the French embassy, Japanese Parallel Nippon Architecture exhibition, African Voices, Tavatose/Sisonke exhibition and We Need New Names solo exhibition.

The National Gallery School of Visual Art and Design is no exception as it was part and parcel of the resounding successful year. The school hosted a five day Art camp were young aspiring artists of all age groups received tutorials on different mediums of art at the National Gallery.

The school in December officially opened the Rough Diamonds student’s exhibition. Ordinarily staged as the Green Shoots, the exhibition’s name was altered in order to suit the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Running under the tag-line Brilliant Shining Forever on all social media platforms, this attracted and ignited interest to audiences of different demographies across the continent. With the socio-economic and political transitions that have taken place in the country over the years, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe has nonetheless managed to grow from strength to strength. This can be accredited to the unwavering leadership of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Executive Director Doreen Sibanda.

The 60th anniversary was a time to celebrate and reflect on the tremendous role that the Gallery has played in Zimbabwean society as well as the international museum and art scene in a span of six decades shaping the Visual Art landscape.

The Gallery has been central to the growth of contemporary art in the country, and looks to the future with pride in its achievements and determination to maintain its high standards and continued growth.