The Sunday News
Tafadzwa Gwetai
MOST of us know the feeling of being moved by a work of art, whether it is a song, a play, a poem, a novel, a painting, or an installation. When we are touched, we are moved, we are transported to a new place that is, nevertheless, strongly rooted in a physical experience, in our bodies.
We become aware of a feeling that may not be unfamiliar to us but which we did not actively focus on before. This transformative experience is what art is constantly seeking. As artists, the agenda is to spark an interest and arouse thought. Art from Zimbabwe has been striving to constantly exist in the contemporary issues. Artists are surrounded by all forms of inspiration and forms of motivation to create and make commentary. Artists have been described as being documenters of life events and recording changes.
One of the major responsibilities of artists and the idea that artists have a social responsibility may come as a surprise to some. Artists and art have the ability to help people not only get to know and understand something with their minds but also to feel it emotionally and physically. Art has the capacity of doing this, art can facilitate the actual process of thinking an idea to actually doing.
Engaging with art is not simply a solitary event. The arts and culture represent one of the few areas in our society where people can come together to share an experience even if they see the world in radically different ways. The important thing is not that we agree about the experience that we share, but that we consider it worthwhile sharing an experience at all. In art and other forms of cultural expression, disagreement is accepted and embraced as an essential ingredient. Culture is known to be dynamic and constantly changing to adjust to globalisation. Artists find themselves in an interesting position where they are faced with the challenge of preserving cultural heritage and at the same time embracing the new direction in which globalisation is taking us. Art from Zimbabwe reveals hints of cultural ancient practice, colonial residue, shifts in power, modern hustlers, religious searches, urban and rural struggle and glimpses of celebration. Zimbabwean art therefore becomes rich with so many layers of feelings, thought and experiences that has led to the proud and strong Modern Zimbabwe artist.
This positions artists in a new way. They and their art are no longer in the centre. Artists can be more accurately viewed as catalysts, building and maintaining a relationship with their audience. Art with an agenda relies more on the participatory or relational context than on the content. The audience and the context are key and the art form merely just becomes the initial spark of an idea or movement or line of thought.
Where does art with a social agenda take place? Artworks with and for the community. The work must have a relationship with the community and be symbolic of a purpose. It acts in a real environment to find ways to enable social and/or political change. Each project reflects certain societal issues and involves the community in which the artwork takes place. In consequence, the artist/creator/producer is deeply identified with the topic, and develops a relationship with individuals, organisations and the environment. It’s impossible to create an art piece without deep engagement, empathy and collaboration with those who will be involved. The artist/producer/creator’s first task is to earn trust and to overcome the mental gaps between “us” and “them”. The community and environment are therefore not merely external influencers on a specific project — they are inherent characteristics. To be able to talk about Zimbabwe one has to be able to breathe Zimbabwe, and have an intimate encounter with the space and people to create an art work that tells a true story.
I am convinced that by bringing us together to share and discuss, a work of art can make us more tolerant of difference and of one another. The encounter with art and with others over art can help us identify with one another, expand our notions of who we are, and show us that individual engagement in the world has actual consequences. That’s why I hope that in the future, art will be invited to take part in discussions of social, political, and ecological issues even more than it is currently and that artists will be included when leaders at all levels, from the local to the global, consider solutions to the challenges that face us in the world today.
