20
September 2013
Editor:
Bert Witkamp
1 COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
The
Choma Museum e-mail address is: chomamuseum@gmail.com.
Mail to that address will be read by Mwimanji N. Chellah, executive director of
the CMCC. Peggy Himoonde is in charge of the Art Gallery. For information about
the ongoing CM Art Gallery exhibition you may also contact Bert Witkamp at zamfactor@gmail.com. The Choma
Museum Art Gallery website is: chomamuseumartgallery.weebly.com. It is small but keeps you updated about
what is happening in the gallery. The site gets visited about 10 to 15 times
daily – more than the average physical visits of the gallery. This newsletter
is also published on the ZamArt Blog and the art gallery website.
2. CURRENT
EXHIBITION: GRAPHIC ART OF ZAMBIA
 |
The Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs and
CMCC ED admiring a silkscreen print by Lutanda
depicting a traditional event.
|
This
is the third exhibition of the Choma Museum Art gallery this year. The official opening
took place on August 21st 2013 and was performed by Professor Nkandu
Luo, Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs. She was accompanied by her two
deputy ministers – indeed it has been some time since the CMCC has been visited
by three ministers for a single event.
Professor Nkandu Luo in her well informed opening speech expressed appreciation
for the manner in which the museum had been setup and was clearly genuinely
interested in the institution and its exhibitions. Exhibition organisor Bert Witkamp
explained how the exhibition was structured stressing the pioneers of artistic
printmaking in Zambia. CMCC Executive Director Mwimanji N. Chellah guided the
Ministers, their entourage and invited guests through the CMCC premises,
building and exhibitions.
 |
| After the Shot. Lino cut by Patrick Mweemba. |
Roy Kausa, art writer and Board member of the Lechwe Trust, also covered the event (on
11.09.13) and had photographs posted on the CNN i-report website.
Bert Witkamp has designed a leaflet
providing information about Zambian printmakers and a brief outline of graphic
art in Zambia. This information can also be accessed on the Choma Museum Art Gallery
website (click on the current exhibition tab), the ZamArt Blog and the Zfactor Art Site (click on IT
publications).
This
exhibition, in a sense a sequel to the 1996 graphic art of Zambia exhibition by the same institution, may very well be the most comprehensive Zambian graphic art
exhibition ever. Almost all major graphic artists are represented. On sale are
both recent and older prints. The older prints, made in the seventies and
eighties, include increasingly rare prints by Tayali, Cynthia Zukas, Lutanda Mwamba and members
of the Lusaka Artists Group. The display runs till end of October.
3
PREVIOUS: WOMEN IN ART – art by or about women
The exhibition opened March 2nd
and closed about August 10th 2013. It attracted about 1,000 recorded
visitors. Sales amounted to K 10,000.
4 MEMORY
LANE
 |
| BaSyabbalo |
Today (20.09.13) Mr Enock Syabbalo came to see
the museum. He is one of the pioneers of what now is the CMCC. In the early
eighties he was working for the Gossner Mission in the Gwembe Valley where he
was in charge of the crafts activities of the mission. This activity was
adopted by the Netherlands government in 1988 as a development project and developed to what today is the
Choma Museum and Crafts Centre Trust Ltd. In 1987, now 25 years ago, it was the
Society for the Gwembe Tonga Museum and Crafts Project. BaSyabbalo was its
first employee. He is, needless to say, an expert of Gwembe Tonga culture.
5 FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Roy Kausa suggested that this exhibition should
move on to the Lusaka National Museum to be combined with a graphic art workshop
for secondary school pupils. Sounds like a good idea. The CM Art Gallery as yet
has not developed a plan for its next exhibition.
Note: You are welcome to notify art events for posting on the
Choma Museum Art Gallery website or ZamArt Blog by using the any of e-mail
addresses above.
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