Sunday the 26th of june, was yet again an amazing day in the capital as a number of exhibitors came to the annual Borrowdale craft fair which is held at the old Georgians sports club. It was a colourful event as people from all walks of life came to enjoy the visually stimulating festivities. Once again I was perplexed by the amount of talent that Zimbabwe has to offer, most of the works I witnessed were mind blowing to say the least.
I must admit it was truly refreshing to see women taking the lead role at the fair as they were the dominant exhibitors. Each art work had its own message, some works spoke of a Zimbabwe rich in culture, happiness, peace and love, whilst some works boasted of sheer creativity. After soaking in everything I saw, I definitely felt proud to be Zimbabwean. Here are some of awesome works I had an opportunity to witness ;
Ethnic pottery by Rhudo pottery arts and craft
Mosaic furniture by Ingrid Taka
Cutlery by Simpli Simbi
Glasswork by Round the loop glass works
Traditional and contemporary art by Grace Craft (pvt)
Handcrafted furniture by Edit designs
Handcrafted Metal sculpture by, Birdwoods
Handprinted linen by Linen for Africa
Tables and chairs by House of iron
Lampshades by Dim light lampshades
Metal sculptures by Gregor products
Teak furniture by Ethnic Designs
Metal sculptures, wood candle stands and leather bags by leather culture
Paintings from Nu art, one thing that caught my attention about nu art was that, none of the paintings were done by well known artists, and yet they were both vibrant and remarkable in their design most of them were done by 80 year old women who I personally feel deserve recognition for their amazing work.
Paintings by Lovemore Gumbodzvanda
Picture frames by Bettercraft manufacturing
Wood and cowhorn carvings by Douglas Ngwenya who came all the way from Bulawayo to exhibit his work.
Perrycops wood carvings by Collence and Joe Zata designs
Painted carvings by Trymore Magwaro
Handbags by Mrs. Gaga
Jewellery by Intimate African Jewellery
Young designers took to the stands as well, on display was jewellery from misswitni jewellery, clothing apparel from Claudia designs, jewllery and very interesting clocks from Faith Nunurai.
I also would like to pay homage to a charity organization called Oasis which was present at the fair. They showcased jewellery and handbags that had been designed by the women and children under its care. Oasis seeks to improve the livelihood of people and communities by empowering them with skills and life sustaining projects all I can say is many thanks to them and keep it up !!!,
In light of what the women at the fair achieved I felt I should make mention of Mrs. Mombeshora, an upcoming entrepreneur who was showcasing her range of cleaning chemicals, from her Matrix brand.
All in all the fair proved to be an amazing experience for me, Zimbabwe has so much to offer a true diamond in the rough. Many thanks to the exhibitors for making the event a memorable one and special thanks to Rhudo arts and craft for inviting us, to get a hold of them ; cell: 0772338038 or visit them at 6 Ingatestone Ave, Greencroft Mabelreign, Harare
So, just recently I was updating the blog in a local cafe and I sat next to a guy who was looking at some art pieces. At first I thought he was looking at one of Picasso's pieces for inspiration, that's when I asked him what he was about and he told me that he was an artist and the works he was looking at were not Picasso's but his. This man was none other than David Chinyama, a renouned visual poet , who has been in the industry for ten years, he has quite a huge following in Europe and America, he is set to tour France, Austria and Canada.
This page is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the visual arts industry, talk is cheap check out his works;
To see more of Davids work visit www.intoafrica.de/ www.seedgallerynewyork.com/ www.davidchinyama.com......ZIM HAS TALENT PEOPLE!!!!
