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Isdore Guvamombe

Every town has its epitaph!

The small town of Mvurwi, in Mashonaland Central, some 100km north of Harare, has probably the best epitaph; it is a stone sculpture gallery that speaks a thousand words.

These are world classes pieces of fine and abstract art, that watch over and greet your as you enter the town.

These are the quiet but active communicators, the autochthones that came from the ground as raw stones and were turned by skilful hands into real life characters. As you drive along the highway into town, they summon you to slow down or even crawl, take a look and probably halt.

So powerful are these pieces of stone art that they can fit into the best galleries of any discerning collector, the world over.

On the verges of the town of Mvurwi, as one approaches it from Harare, a new bridge gives way to a gallery to the left, where pieces of stone sculpture welcome you in abundance.

The pieces that come is various forms- from flora to fauna and human beings- come is different sizes too. Each of them tells a story of the town, its surroundings and its offerings and visitors, too.

There is fine art. There is abstract art. The most fascinating aspect of the gallery, donated to sculptors by some visionary in the town council in 2012, is that it assembles pieces from several artistes from Mbire, Mutorashanga, Guruve, Mvurwi and Chiweshe.

The collection is amazing so much that it would make seasoned curators, green with envy. That is the style of Mvurwi, too different from many towns that would have written simply “Welcome to Mvurwi”.

One of the resident sculptors Lawrence Manwere says the Mvurwi Arts Centre thrives at telling the story on Mvurwi and its surrounding districts, then the larger story of Zimbabwe.

“We have artistes from Mbire, Guruve, Chiweshe, Mutorashanga and Mvurwi itself. This variety has given depth to our arts centre. We are unique and can challenge local and international buyers to compare us with anyone.

“Our pieces tell real life stories. For example, I have done an abstract art pieces that speaks to the country’s big five and I named it Wildlife. It tells that story and captures wildlife emotions.

“You can also see other artistes have captured real life emotion. You can see women with children clad on their backs, prayer worriers and women doing domestic chores. You can see birds and snakes. You can see life here,’’ he said.

However, the Mvurwi Arts Centre is trying to reach out to the international market, where the scultpors think they could fetch better prices for their world class products.

The arts centre is a place to be. It is refreshing. It speaks to Zimbabwe’s best talents in stone work.

I was particularly fascinated by a piece that depicts a man, with his two children, in a typical reversal of roles. Under normal circumstance, it would have been a woman and her young children. This is no doubt good creativity and indeed good art. The message is unique but useful to a world where women are no longer limited to domestic chores like tending to children.

“In their various forms,’’ explains Manwere, “the pieces here tell many powerful stories. Real life stories.

“But at the end we have something for everyone. No one will leave this place without enjoying one of two pieces.

“Of course the world market is not looking good under Covid-19. But as soon as the world re-opens to unrestricted business, we think we have a good collection for the best.  Our work speaks for itself, but we welcome all those who have different views and those who want to make us improve as well as those who can market our products’’ says Manwere.