Ilizwe/Nyika/Nation Collaboration launches in Zimbabwe

WORDS Celeste Jacobs

A joint effort between the National Gallery of Bulawayo and Artcollab studio sees the multi-media show, Ilizwe/Nyika/Nation Collaboration, brought to life from 9 April to 10 July 2021 in Bulawayo.

Thanks to the residency programme run by the National Gallery, three South Africans will showcase their work alongside five Zimbabwean artists. You can expect to see a multidisciplinary body of work produced by artists Cliford Zulu, Deborah Weber, Elgin Rust, Jolene Cartmill, Lady Tshawe, Nomvuyiso Mpofu, Shamilla Aasha and Zandile Masuku. The work is based around the theme of land and gender in 2019. The work is based around the theme of land and gender in 2019. For those of us based elsewhere in the world, the gallery has made a virtual tour of the space available online.

Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi, National Gallery Regional Director says, “The question of land in Zimbabwe remains a topical issue since the commencement of the land reform programme at the turn of the millennium. We were keen, through this collaboration, to explore the contemporary manifestations of Zimbabwe and South Africa’s land questions, and the idea of Zimbabwean artists collaborating with South African artists also speaks to our desire to strengthen people-to-people collaborations within the Southern region. We are therefore delighted to be presenting this exhibition.”

This truly collaborative exhibition explores land and gender, and how the two combine in shaping the way these artists see the world. It speaks to the complex and nuanced experiences that hold the potential to shift and mould the future of Africa too.

Keep up with the latest from the National Gallery by visiting their website and shop the works from the Ilizwe/Nyika/Nation Collaboration here.