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Zim visual artists for Italian exhibition

Life & Style
NATIONAL Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) executive director Nicholas Moyo has urged the four visual artists representing the nation at the Zimbabwe Pavilion of the 58th International Exhibition of Art set for June in Biennale Venice, Italy, to be good ambassadors of the country.

BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO

NATIONAL Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) executive director Nicholas Moyo has urged the four visual artists representing the nation at the Zimbabwe Pavilion of the 58th International Exhibition of Art set for June in Biennale Venice, Italy, to be good ambassadors of the country.

The country’s representatives, who are set to raise the nation’s flag high at the showcase are Cosmas Shiridzinomwa (pictured), Georgina Maxim, Kudzanai Violet Hwami, and Neville Starling.

The exhibition will be held under the theme Soko Risina Musoro, derived from the late national hero Herbert Chitepo’s epic poem. The theme also resonates with the 58th International Exhibition’s theme: May You Live In Interesting Times, which focuses on the advent of fake news.

“Go out there and raise the Zimbabwean flag. Remember you are not there because of what you are capable of. You are what Zimbabwe has chosen to represent the nation. It’s very important to bear that in mind. It’s an ambassadorial event in the field of arts,” Moyo said.

Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation deputy minister Yeukai Simbanegavi said the selected artists were headed for Venice as ambassadors of the country.

“My ministry is proud to create opportunities for young people of Zimbabwe. This group of artists is a testament to this and has been chosen to tell the Zimbabwean story to the rest of the globe. I am sure the team is going to excel. It’s with great pleasure that we support the appearance of Zimbabwe at the international exhibition,” she said.

A representative of the selection committee, Farai Mupfunya, said they looked at the work that spoke to the theme and sought to position the country on the global arena.

“We were looking at how and which artists brought something new and echoed the words of the late nationalist (Herbert Wiltshere Pfumaindini Chitepo). We also looked at the work that interests Zimbabwe and ultimately positions it on the global stage,” he said.

Shiridzinomwa majors in painting and has showcased her works in Zambia, South Africa, Netherlands and Germany.

Maxim is the co-founder of Village Unhu and is currently studying African Verbal and Visual Arts – Languages, Curation and Arts at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

Hwami does oil painting and many of her paintings are self-portraits and images of her immediate and extended family members.

Starling is a self-taught artist who was born in Bulawayo.