Have You Been To The Venice Biennale Exhibition At The National Art Gallery?

The Venice Biennale Exhibition is now taking place at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare running under the title Dudziro:Interrogating the Visions of Religious Beliefs as it appeared last year at the Zimbabwe Pavilion located at the 56^th Venice Biennale in Italy. The Venice Biennale is by far one of the most relevant art shows in the world.

Dudziro: Interrogating the Vision of Religious Beliefs opened at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on the 28^th of August and was attended by members of Government, members of the Diplomatic Corps and art enthusiasts. The former Zimbabwean Ambassador to Italy, Mary Mubi, stressed the importance of Zimbabwe’s presence at the Venice Biennale as during a time of harsh economic conditions, a globally appealing exhibition was developed and bettered the nation’s image in international circles.

Thereafter the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, Dr. Tokhozile Chitepo pointed out the relevance of exhibiting as a nation at International expositions such as the Venice Biennale and how they work in the development of art in Zimbabwe. Dr. Chitepo went on to state “The importance of having a Zimbabwe Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is underscored by the fact that Zimbabwe is an artistically rich nation that has through history established relevance on the global art platform. Dudziro: Interrogating the Visions of Religious Beliefs served as a means of detailing the Zimbabwean experience through the eyes and minds of highly proficient artists.”

“The Zimbabwe Pavilion itself was testament to the relevance of the nation’s projection of the Zimbabwean story, its faith and belief systems were handled by means that could easily be interpreted by the individual who has the most remote knowledge of the country itself. The fact that there is little African representation at the Biennale, paired with the 70, 000 visits to the Pavilion shows the popularity of the Exhibition. On record the number of views sum up to a fifth of total visits for the whole run of the Biennale throughout its duration” she concluded.

The Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Pavilion and the Executive Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Mrs. Doreen Sibanda thanked the partners and sponsors for their support and stated the importance of showcasing Zimbabwean Art in the global arena is positive for the subsector and the country’s image. In addition to the exhibition commissioners statement the Curator of the show Raphael Chikukwa expressed gratitude for the co-operation he received from the artists and the Government of Zimbabwewhose co-operation made the event possible.

Dudziro: Interrogating the Vision of Religious Belief runs from the 28^th of August to the 14^th of September at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare

Commissioned by Doreen Sibanda

Curated by Raphael Chikukwa

Presser