HARARE - In its quest to revive art in the country, the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe last week appointed an Education Curator who is expected to lead the country towards a total rival of the sector. In a statement the Art Gallery said that the appointment of Tashinga Matindike Gondo as the curator of education was designed to transform the sector which is already showing signs of recovery.
Over the past few years the visual arts scene suffered implacable economic hardships that increasingly deterred creativity and growth in the industry. The absence of dynamism led to the gradual demise and impassiveness towards art education.
Despite the difficulties, the National Art Gallery has introduced the Visual Art School that primarily aims to develop the artistic talent of gifted individuals, with the hope of producing young professional artists.
Other projects initiated by the Department of Education at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, include workshops and art classes for school children and adults as well as tours of current exhibitions and outreach programmes for scholars that will be launched this year.
Gondo, who has studied in different parts of the world, is expected to bring her in-depth appreciation of art to Zimbabwe which is set to be the first country from the Sub-Saharan Africa to exhibit at the prestigious 54th Venice Biennale.
Tashinga said I can guarantee you that Zimbabwes participation at the Biennale is only the beginning of greater things to come. The role of education at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe must be recognized and valued as it provides a platform for individuals to discover, gain knowledge of and experience the significance or art.
The Executive Director, Doreen Sibanda, said We feel very fortunate to have Tashinga Matindike-Gondo on our team as she is energetic and familiar with the artistic pedagogy as well as being an acclaimed artist in her own right. She will definitely make a difference to the services we can deliver.
Post published in: Arts