The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
A Bulawayo-based painter, Nonhlanhla Mathe, is set to exhibit some of her artwork in two exhibitions that will take place in Germany.
Mathe will be in Ahaus, a town in the District of Borken in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, for about four weeks from 24 May to 17 June.
Mathe is set to showcase her work at a museum and church, with the exhibition officially opened by the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Germany, Alice Mashingaidze.
Known by the artistic name, Nonny, Mathe is a product of the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo.
“I have been doing painting for quite a long time ever since l left school. I have been a child of the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo for a very long time and I grew up painting from there,” said Mathe.
“I have done exhibitions nationally in various cities, regionally in Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and South both in group and solo exhibitions. This time l got an opportunity to do an exhibition in Germany and it is my first time to go to the country.”
This will not Mathe’s first time in Europe, as she has already been to Denmark for a group exhibition where they showcased her various artworks.
Mathe who is enthusiastic about her second international exhibition, said she has been planning for the Germany trip since 2020.
“One may ask how this opportunity came by, this came after l did a design for a World Day of Prayer logo in 2020. After that l got a lot of people coming to see me some from Europe and churches among others, that’s how l met Reverend Kerstin Hemker,” she said.
“She visited me at the National Gallery, bought some of my artworks that she sold some of them in Germany and she saw that people were interested in them. She invited me to hold an exhibition in Germany this year, while we have been planning this since 2020.”
Reverend Kerstin Hemker and her husband Dr Reignold Hemker were last month conferred Zimbabwe’s Tourism Ambassadors by the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Honourable Mangaliso Nqobizitha Ndlovu.
For over 41 years, the German couple has frequently visited Zimbabwe.
Dr Hemker has been the President of the German Zimbabwe Society since 1999 for over 24 years, while Reverend Hemker is the Project coordinator of German Zimbabwe Society and an art consultant.
