Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi
National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo statement

Since 1974, the National Gallery in Bulawayo (NGB) has established an indelible mark in promoting art and artists’ growth in the south western region of Zimbabwe. As the foremost visual arts institution, the NGB has the unique role and mandate of preserving and promoting the visual heritage of the region. Over the years, the NGB has emerged as an arts facility in broader service of the creative needs of the public. 

The NGB prides itself as a versatile and transformative organisation. We have in the last year invested time and resources to self-introspect and redefine ourselves and our mandate. Provision of the best artistic experience is our cause and passion. Informed and inspired by emerging and established international contemporary art trends, the NGB has since 2019 embraced digital technologies in curation and exhibition making. We seek to position the NGB as a creatively vibrant arts establishment.  

Zimbabwe’s demographic profile shows that approximately 68% of the population are young people below the age of 35. Aware that digital media mostly attracts the youth, the NGB is desirous to attract young people for purposes of building long term art audiences. 

The NGB is delighted to partner with arebyte gallery in presenting the POWERPLAY exhibition. The exhibition is a deliberate effort to present ‘new art’ to attract ‘new audiences’. POWERPLAY is a significant exhibition for the NGB as it is the first full scale digital art intervention. We are equally pleased that the exhibition is international in character and features artists from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and the United Kingdom. We consider cultural diversity an important attribute in enhancing audience experience. Through digital art, the NGB is opening up to international audiences for purposes of actively promoting Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage. 

Galleries of the future are being reimagined as ‘galleries without walls’; the NGB is aligning with the dictates of the fourth industrial revolution. POWERPLAY signifies and symbolises the NGB’s diversification to incorporate the digital art world. Noteworthy is that the exhibition is being unveiled in the context of COVID19, a virus that has jolted arts institutions into accelerated digitisation and protracted use of social media platforms, a path the NGB will pursue with greater vigor and tenacity. 

The NGB expresses gratitude to arebyte for the partnership and commitment to be our partners in the ongoing digitisation process. A hearty thank you is also extended to British Council Southern Africa for the grant.

Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi is the Regional Director at National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo