Sokwanele, a human rights watch dog, is urging Zimbabweans to take action against a recent ban of the art exhibition by Bulawayo artist, Owen Maseko. It is asking concerned Zimbabweans to urgently email Theresa Makoni, MDC-T co-Minister of Home Affairs, and ask her to immediately reverse the ban. It also said people should email Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, and ask him to do all he can to protect freedom of expression as it relates to art and culture.
Ask them both to prevent further persecution of the artist Owen Maseko, for daring to question and tell the truth, it said.
On 25 March 2010, Owen Masekos provocative exhibition of paintings, graffiti and 3D installations was opened at Bulawayos National Gallery. His work focused primarily on the Gukurahundi era, but also challenged Zanu (PF)s political oppression in recent years. Both he and Voti Thebi, the gallerys Director, were arrested the following day and the exhibition closed to the public. Maseko was charged with violating Section 33 of the Criminal Law and Codification Act, a law that punishes anyone who insults or undermines the authority of the President. He was also charged with Section 42 (2): Causing offence to persons of a particular race, religion, etc.
Any person who publicly makes any insulting or otherwise grossly provocative statement that causes offence to persons of a particular race, tribe, place of origin, colour, creed or religion, intending to cause such offence or realising there is a real risk or possibility of doing so, shall be guilty of causing offence to persons of a particular race, tribe, place of origin, colour, creed or religion, as the case may be.
Both these crimes carry a penalty of either a fine or a prison sentence of up to one year in jail.
On 27 August 2010 a special government order was issued formally prohibiting the exhibition.
Masekos case is a clear illustration of what happens when art and freedom of expression come together to challenge Zanu (PF)s Patriotic History project. It reveals how the rule of law in Zimbabwe has been crafted and subverted to support the Zanu (PF) partys ideological priorities. The evolution of Masekos case demonstrates that the Zanu (PF) party remains deeply committed to its social engineering programme, regardless of the GPA, noted Sokwanele in its monthly report on human rights violations.
Banning Masekos work has very troubling implications for national healing, reconciliation, and integration in Zimbabwe, it said.
Will there be a time when art that attempts to focus on these events will, like Masekos art, also be subject to censorship by the state? How can art in Zimbabwe thrive if a swathe of topics that make the government uncomfortable are declared no-go areas? And how can art in Zimbabwe be taken seriously if the first question asked of a challenging exhibition is: Does this art conform to Patriotic History? instead of Is this art good?
It is a shame that almost all of the discussion pertaining to Owen Masekos exhibition has been corralled by political imperatives. Zimbabwean artists work at a challenging interface between the social / cultural and the political; but as artists, they are also positioned within the broader discipline of Art, a field unconstrained by national boundaries and rigid definitions of sovereignty. The controversy surrounding Masekos exhibition has effectively cast him as a political activist and fails to give due recognition to the fact that he is also, quite simply, an Artist.
Post published in: Arts