Established in 1997 under the poverty alleviation programme the Chitungwiza Arts Centre is one of the biggest arts centres in the country.
It is a project of the Ministry of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Chitungwiza Municipality chipped in by allocating five hectares of land free of charge.
The centre houses more than 120 artists from the satellite town who specialise in stone sculpture, wire craft, tin and wood sculpture.
Chitungwiza Arts Centre takes part in various exhibitions locally, regionally and internationally.
Artwell Chipiri, the deputy chairperson of the centre, last week said they also had now ventured into performing arts to encourage diversity.
“The performing artists are still inactive at the moment because of the absence of facilities for them to use,” said Chipiri.
“We are working on securing funds to erect a stage for them. Hopefully we will be able to acquire sponsorship by year-end so that we will start the coming year on a different note.”
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He said the centre has been facing many challenges ever since the introduction of multiple currencies in the country.
“Buyers of our craft were adversely affected and this was also exacerbated by the world recession which led to the decline in sales,” he said.
“Transport costs for carrying stones from the mines have also become exorbitant and this has lowered our production levels.
“Prices of our products, on the other hand, have dropped so it has not been easy,” said Chipiri.
He however said the centre was looking for new markets in the Far East and other countries.
“We are looking forward to exploring eastern markets because their economies are stronger. Most of our traditional buyers are from Europe, which is facing recession.
“We are doing it through lobbying embassies by giving them our products, so that we can be allowed to trade directly, not through middlemen,” he said.
He lamented the lack of interest in the arts by most Zimbabweans.
“Many people do not respect artistic works, they have a perception that they are for foreigners, which is wrong. This affects our business as we our forced to look for external clients,” said Chipiri.
