National Arts Gallery to host culture indaba
THE National Arts Gallery of Zimbabwe (NAGZ) will this week host the International Conference on African Cultures (ICAC) as part of their ongoing 60th anniversary celebrations.
The three-day conference starts tomorrow and ends on September 13. A similar event was last held in 1962. There has been growing calls on the global arts stage and cultural corridors for Africans to tell their own story, which will help them find solutions to some of the challenges they face.
Speaking on the significance of the event, NAGZ chief curator Raphael Chikukwa said the conference will unlock opportunities for artistes. It is expected to bring together important personalities, scholars, museum professionals, directors, artists, poets, writers and critics from around the world.
“The 1962 ICAC was a unique event, which opened many doors for a number of African scholars and artistes. The positioning of the NAGZ globally was elevated to a whole new level on the global stage. So we believe that by hosting this conference, we can once again open up opportunities for African scholars, curators and artistes,” said Chikukwa.
He added that the platform will be ideal to discuss pertinent cultural and arts matters on a local turf.
“For too long, African cultural and arts matters have been discussed in foreign lands by non-Africans. This has to change. Therefore, such a platform enables us as Africans to speak back to those who have been handling our issues, the so-called Africanists who have no understanding of who we are, as well as what our art and culture is all about.”
Chikukwa said the conference promotes cultural tourism and will emphasise on the preservation of culture as highlighted in the African Union Agenda 2063.
“The conference is bringing limelight on Zimbabwe. It gives visitors the opportunity to understand where we are working from and why we have decided to look back in the past as a gallery. This is why the conference is themed ‘Mapping the Future’,” he explained.
“We are looking back in order to make preparations for the future. The conference is also in tune with the African Union Agenda, which focuses on the role culture and art play in our society as well as the preservation of culture for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Chikukwa further highlighted that the conference will be all encompassing, not just focusing on visual arts.
Veteran arts practitioners Stephen Chifunyise and Phatisa Nyathi will join over 20 speakers that are expected to grace the event from across the continent.
Historic art pieces that date back to the 1960s will be up for display.
The inaugural ICAC opened up important debates about Africa’s underplayed contribution to the global art world as well as the sophistication and holistic nature of the continent’s visual culture.
Among the guests were Alfred Barr, the Museum of Modern Art director; William Fagg, the Keeper of the Department of Anthropology at the British Museum; Tristan Tzara, the poet and essayist known mainly as a founder of Dada; S.O. Okeke of the National Museum of Nigeria and Pierre Guerre who was French art critic.