Inside the Gallery's Culture Box Workshop:
IN ITS simplest term, culture can be defined as a way of life for a group of people. The National Gallery of Zimbabwe offers an educational workshop called the Culture Box. The workshop involves a large box which when opened, displays a variety of objects. The box consists of traditional, musical instruments, kitchenware, weaponry, adornments and leisure objects. It allows young learner the opportunity to step outside of the classroom-wall, into the Gallery space in order to evoke questions, hold discussions or debates around the traditional objects that they see. This workshop ensures development of ideas, knowledge and understanding of the material culture of Zimbabwe. It assists learners encouraging opportunity to share and discuss the history and function of different types of objects.
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe started the Culture Box Workshop to educate schoolchildren on their own heritage and traditional customs. It was created to strengthen identity and foster pride in young people.
The Box contains over 50 objects of material culture from Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa. For a group of 20 children, it can take between 45 minutes to an hour to conduct this interactive workshop. This workshop is different from other activities offered as students are encouraged to touch and feel the objects unlike other displays in the Gallery.
Students are welcome to discuss in vernacular languages if they feel comfortable doing so. To cater to the different ethnic groups in Zimbabwe, how the objects are named may vary.
Through direct interaction with art and cultural objects, the Culture Box nurtures creativity and critical thinking skills. It creates opportunities to actively explore complex ideas in engaging ways, sparks curiosity and provides space to innovate.
According to the book “Culture Intelligence for Leaders”, culture is dynamic.
This means that culture changes all the time, every day, in indirect as well as noticeable ways. This is due to the fact that people communicate and express their cultural systems in a variety of ways. However, some systems, norms and values sometimes get lost in the way.
There is a great risk that as future generations come they may never know about the existence of certain elements of culture. One example is of the object called Gunere/Ganure a special plate from Mutoko-Murewa region it was mostly used by the head of the house.
Few people know its importance and symbolism, hence it may appear as though few people still value it as it is only used by the head of the house. Knowing the purpose of these cultural objects is of great importance.
The Culture Box also comes at a time when the Government of Zimbabwe has introduced a new education curriculum which stresses on the significance of arts and cultural education from an early age.
The Culture Box at the Gallery serves as a resource from which interested schools can draw from. They can learn more about what they need to acquire at their cultural villages from their school.
The Culture Box Workshop for schools exposes children to their heritage and develop a passion in them that will familiarise them with their origins.
Schools can make a booking to have the Culture Box Workshop held at the Gallery or at their school for a small fee of $20 per group or $1 for an individual. The Culture Box may itself be loaned to schools for a maximum period of four weeks. Do not be left out in this amazing educational interaction. The National Gallery of Zimbabwe also offer tours, students’ activity booklets and Saturday Art Classes for young learners. ◆ Booking can be made via www. nationalgallery. co. zw or + 263 4 704666, 0772814656.