The Sunday News
Mbongeni Msimanga Sunday Leisure Correspondent
ASSOCIATING Richmond Dumpsite commonly known as Ngozi Mine with anything beautiful, good and worth the admiration of anyone other than vagrants and vagabonds is nothing short of a dichotomy of some sorts.
What strikes one when they enter the “mine” is nothing but lowlife vagrants who reside at the slum settlements associated with poverty and squalid conditions.
And yet in that same settlement that have sprouted around the Bulawayo City Council’s dumpsite near Cowdray Park is something good coming out. Something that is likely going to transform the lives of many whose lives have been relegated to the dumpsite by various life circumstances purely not of their making.
After all, who said people cannot make money out of the garbage.
A group of visual artistes have taken advantage of the garbage around them and are making all sorts of visual art works that range from paintings, to drawings and plastic artefacts.
And their hope of becoming recognised visual artistes was raised when the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo and Bulawayo City Council weighed in, in support of their initiative, an initiative made out of the need to make an honest living.
“We basically take the plastic that is dumped by companies and convert it into art work. People usually associate us and everyone around with vagrants, but we only come here to get those plastics from the dumpsite so that we convert them into art work,” said the chairman of Ngozi Mine Craft Association, Leonard Dube.
Many, however, operate from their mini- makeshift art galleries that have sprouted around the mine in the hope of reviving eco-art that has been abandoned by visual artistes around the country.
Eco-art is a type of art that celebrates personal engagement with the natural world although it is not popular in Zimbabwe.
Women are also part of the association with some weaving baskets that they sell as far as South Africa and the United Kingdom.
“We have women participating in visual art and basket weaving too in our association. We thought it was good for us to empower them around the mine as some have lost their husbands, and they are supporting their families. Some weave baskets that go as far as South Africa and the United Kingdom,” said Dube.
Although expressing despair that they do not reap much from their artwork, Dube expressed hope that the coming in of EMA, the council and National Art Gallery was a good sign that will see them getting the necessary support that will take the initiative to greater heights.
The National Art Gallery is holding workshops with the artistes and has signed 35 visual artistes who will be assisted in their art work.
Bulawayo’s National Art Gallery assistant and exhibition curator, Clifford Zulu said there was a need to support eco-art as the mine artistes were creating unique forms of art that were admired by many.
“We have been holding workshops with them and trying to assist them in their projects. Eco-art is a form of art that needs assistance and so far most of their art works are admired by many. They are indeed quite creative,” said Zulu.
He hinted that they were plans to have the artistes registered with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) as their art works were capable of attracting a number of tourists.
Already, they have been given land and a structure will soon be erected along the Victoria Falls Road that will see an art workshop operating from that end.
“We are hoping to register these artistes under the ZTA and NACZ. I believe their work can attract tourists as well and they need to be supported,” added Zulu.
