Kariba sculptor sets up gallery in Germany
GERMANY-BASED Kariba sculptor Ronica Tandi (46) has continued to market the resort as a safe tourist destination after setting up the Little Zim Art of Africa gallery at her residence.
Tandi, who relocated to Germany about eight years ago, tells the untold stories about Nyami Nyami, the River God, Kariba Dam, the Tonga people with artifacts telling the history of the resort town.
Arguably Kariba’s best female sculpture, Tandi told NewsDay Life & Style that she was born in a family of sculptors and was inspired by her brothers to pursue sculpture.
“I was born in a family of artists, some are based in Canada, United States and back home there. I ended up joining carving since it’s a talent that runs in the family,” she said.
Tandi said while she might be kilometres away, she is committed to market her home town and country.
“I don’t market Kariba in Germany only, I market Kariba internationally. Wherever I go with my art, as long as there is Ronica Tandi, I will definitely tell the story of Kariba,” she said.
“We want tourists in Kariba, we want to promote Kariba, we want Kariba to get back to its former glory. I am using my talent as an artist to express my feelings through art. I describe Kariba through art.”
She bemoaned COVID-19-induced lockdown restrictions which prevent her from undertaking annual trips to take her artefacts to other countries.
“Normally every year I visit three countries and last week I was in Austria, but because of COVID-19, I could not go to Switzerland. So wherever there is my piece of art, there is the marketing of Kariba,” she said.
“I also conduct workshops on cultural exchange. I go to schools and talk about Zimbabwe. We are never negative about Zimbabwe because we are proud about our country.”
She said her wish was to conduct sculpting workshops for schoolchildren living with disabilities.
In 2018, Tandi donated a sculpture to Kariba called Kariba Wave in support of efforts to attract tourists to the resort town.
Kariba Wave was officially commissioned by the Tourism ministry as a tourist attraction in the same year and stands magnificently at Kariba viewpoint overlooking the Kariba Dam.