THE National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) opens the Harare Conversations with a conversation between Elizabeth ‘Zaza’ Muchemwa of Almasi Collaborative Arts in Zimbabwe and Halima Cassells of Free Market of Detroit in the United States tomorrow.
BY TINASHE MUCHURI
The one-and-a-half-hour conversation, running under the theme: Valuing the Invaluable: Artists and Cultural Practitioners will be held at 11am, with NGZ education curator Fadzai Muchemwa as the moderator.
NGZ said in a statement that Zaza and Halima would exchange notes on how their communities valued and uplifted artistes and artistic work, the disparities between the two communities and practices that affirm artistes working in a social context in Zimbabwe and the US.
Halima, an interdisciplinary artist and community organiser with interests in social practice, visual art and community building, is a co-founding member of the Free Market of Detroit, a multi-genre nomadic swap exchange where community members share goods, stories, information and artistic modalities.
She is currently on a research residency at Njelele Art Station in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Cultural Centre of Detroit, supported by the Knights Foundation.
Zaza — a poet, playwright, theatre director and arts manager with the Almasi Collaborative Arts — has directed several theatre productions, performances and readings, including The Incident by Joakim Daun, which won the 17th National Arts Merit Awards for the Outstanding Theatre Production in February, 2018.
Zaza has performed her poetry at the Harare International Festival of the Arts and Intwasa. She is also a board member for Litfest Harare and has worked as a creative consultant for various local developmental organisations.
