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Valerie Mpundu and Gloria Muruva

The trio ZNT held its first sculptural symposium last week at the National Art Gallery with art enthusiasts from across Zimbabwe and the globe, converging for the novel event.

ZNT, an acronym of the co-founders – Zavare, Nyekete and Tazvitya – is an art project based in Chitungwiza. On display were  smooth stone works featuring  nature and wildlife.

During the cultural fête, the trio also had an opportunity to mix and mingle with art enthusiasts, sharing information on their project.

In an interview, Winston Nyekete said vast travels by the trio enabled them to tap into knowledge from different countries while sharing notes on art.

“This event was a cultural symposium, advancing creativity and innovation in art by bringing artists from different parts of the world to explore different cultural aspects.

“For the past 10 years, we have been travelling, learning, and engaging in cultural and artistic dialogue. This brought about the idea of this cultural symposium,” he said.

Visual art is all about expressing and reaching deep within one’s creative mind to tell a story without saying any words.

“This edition has no theme, but having no theme has allowed the artist to freely express their message on stones. Pieces on display uniquely tell each story.

“There has never been a symposium of this kind. We are happy that we were able to curate something that art lovers will enjoy,” said Nyekete.

Gibson Muzavare, popularly known as Murehwa, echoed the same sentiments, saying art in Zimbabwe has come of age.

“We have had this idea of organising a sculpture symposium for 11 years, so we have been trying to see how we can exhibit, which has come to fruition today.

“We reached out to dedicated artists to send us their applications and we conducted a process to determine who could qualify,” said Murehwa, whose career in art spans over two decades.

The chairman of ZNT, Tago Tazvitya, said he was happy with the success of the symposium, which gave the trio an opportunity to share different experiences with other artists.

“I have learnt a lot from other professional artists during this symposium. The whole idea was to bring other cultures to Zimbabwe.

“Other artists from different countries got to experience our smooth stones, which they do not have in their different countries,” he said.

Tazvitya said despite the success of the symposium, they faced financial challenges in organising the event.

He however, applauded the National Art Gallery for their support in coming up with such an initiative.