Tengenenge
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Tengenenge is a community of artists and their families located in the Guruve District of Zimbabwe. It has achieved international recognition because of the large number of sculptors who have lived and worked there since 1966. These include Fanizani Akuda, Bernard Matemera, Sylvester Mubayi, Henry Munyaradzi and Bernard Takawira.[2]
Establishment of the sculpture community
The Tengenenge Sculpture Community was established by Tom Blomefield in 1966. He owned what had originally been a tobacco farm and
Later developments
In 1973, Blomefield sold his farm and moved to Harare, although the community at Tengenenge continued to produce sculptures. By 1979 the countryside there was occupied by those fighting for independence in the guerilla war and most of the artists had gone. In December 1979 the Lancaster House Agreement was signed allowing the country to achieve internationally recognised independence in 1980. The artists' community slowly re-formed especially after Blomefield returned in 1985, which encouraged others to do the same. In 1989, the accessibility for visitors to Tengenenge improved with the opening of a tar road and in that year a number of international exhibitions of the sculptors' work were organised, including one in Europe: Beelden op de Berg in Wageningen, the Netherlands.[2] In 1998, a video about Tengenenge was produced which led a reviewer to comment[6] that
"Tengenenge's strongest feature is the honesty with which it faces the controversial issue of the quality of the work made at the site. This point of contention is by no means limited to that community, but it is particularly extreme because of the large number of people who work there."
By 2000, up to 300 artists had lived at Tengenenge at various times but some visitors were critical of the insanitary conditions and lack of education for workers' children.[5] Others, including Celia Winter-Irving, who had spent several months living at Tengenenge and wrote extensively about the sculpture and the artists was much more supportive, believing[2] that
"[Blomefield]'s mentorship had little sense of the paternalism of white supremacy....nor has he imposed his European way of life and its values upon the artists."
Blomefield continued in his role as director of Tengenenge until 2007, when he was succeeded by Dominic Benhura who is also a well-known sculptor.[7] In 2011, a management team of five artists was formed.[8] Other artists who have worked at Tengenenge include Square Chikwanda, Sanwell Chirume, Edward Chiwawa, Barankinya Gosta, Makina Kameya and Jonathan Mhondorohuma.
Tom Blomefield died on 8 April 2020, aged 95, in the Netherlands; his ashes were buried at Tengenenge on 6 December 2020.[9][10]
Current status
Although art sales sustained over 1200 community members at the height of Tengenenge's success, by 2020 Zimbabwe's lengthy economic hardship had taken its toll. The tourist industry had virtually collapsed and new opportunities were scarce.[1][11][12]
See also
References
- ^ a b Nyavaya, Kennedy (5 March 2017). "How Tengenenge Arts Centre lost its shimmer". The Standard. Harare. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0908309147.
- ^ Tom Blomefield, in the foreword to the catalogue (1993) for the exhibition "Talking Stones II"; ed. Prichard N, Eton, Berkshire (no ISBN)
- ISBN 9074281052.
- ^ a b Monda, Tony (23 March 2016). "Truth about Tengenenge: Part Two.…the village Bloemfield wanted to keep in the Dark Ages". The Patriot. Harare. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- JSTOR 3337882.
- ^ "Tengenenge Sculpture Village". ZimFieldGuide. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ "Tengenenge Art Community Management Team". 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ Masakadza, Blessing (10 April 2020). "Tengenenge founder dies...Benhura salutes Tom Blomfield". dailynews. Harare. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Zimoyo, Tafadzwa (25 November 2020). "Bloomfield's ashes to be buried at Tengenenge". The Herald. Harare. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Tengenenge: Unique craft centre". The Standard. Harare. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ Larkin, Lance (2014). Following the stone: Zimbabwean sculptors carving a place in 21st century art worlds (pdf) (Thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
Further reading
- Harrie Leyten. Tengenenge, Drukkerij Bakker/M.C. Escher Foundation, 1994, ISBN 90-74281-05-2
- Celia Winter-Irving. Tengenene Art Sculpture and Paintings, World Art Foundation, Eerbeek, The Netherlands, 2001, ISBN 90-806237-2-5
- Celia Winter-Irving. Soottie the cat at Tengenenge, Tengenenge (Pvt) Ltd, Graniteside, Harare, 2001, ISBN 0-7974-2260-9
- Christine Scherer. Working on the Small Difference: Notes on the Making of Sculpture in Tengenenge, Zimbabwe, pp. 180–206 in "African Art and Agency in the Workshop", Indiana University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-253-00749-0
- Tom Blomefield. Stone rich in Africa, Kindle edition, Amazon media, 2016, ASIN B01MYVJXWP