Tengenenge

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The former Tengenenge tobacco farm is an internationally known artist colony in the field of sculpture in Zimbabwe . The settlement is located in the Guruve District of Mashonaland Central Province . Her name means the "beginning of the beginning".

history

Tom Blomefield (2012)

The site was acquired by Tom Blomefield , a South African , after several years of dependent planting work in the Guruve district . This activity corresponded to his original aim in life when he immigrated from South Africa to what was then Southern Rhodesia after the Second World War . By 1950 his tobacco farm had achieved economic stability. Due to a severe storm and a subsequent period of drought, the plantation came into severe economic hardship. This threatening situation was averted by the discovery of chrome ores on the farm premises. Tom Blomefield secured the livelihood of his family and farm workers by taking this step.

When the UN issued a global embargo in 1965 because of the country's unilateral declaration of independence by Ian Smith , the export channels for the farm's products were broken off. On the basis of the problem phase in the country, which he realistically assessed, Blomefield tried to reorient himself and his workers. During the chrome ore mining, the rock was recognized as serpentinite . Its easy workability for artistic purposes was known, especially since there was already an art project elsewhere in the country with easily workable rock and archaeological finds in the form of soapstone carvings from Great Zimbabwe are part of the cultural heritage.

Due to family influences, his mother was an artist, he tried to install an art project, which then developed in a hopeful way in a short time. He received support from Crispen Chakanyuka , who visited the farm in Tengenenge after the art project became known. He was a student of the sculptor Joram Mariga from the earlier art project in Vukutu , which was founded by Frank McEwen east of Harare.

Crispen Chakanyuka confirmed Tom Blomefield's intentions, gave him sculpture lessons, and pointed out the large serpentinite deposits on the property. The original tobacco farm was converted into the Tengenenge Art Community in 1966 by Tom Blomefield .

In 1968 began an intensive collaboration with the National Gallery of Rhodesia (National Gallery of Rhodesia) in Salisbury, since 1982 Harare . The then director Frank McEwen organized exhibitions with works from the Tengenenge artist colony in his gallery. This helped the work to gain its first supraregional awareness in the art world. Due to different evaluations of the resulting work between the gallery director and Tom Blomefield, the collaboration was ended after a few years.

During the war of liberation between 1972 and 1980, artistic work in Tengenenge was severely restricted and its existence was threatened. After the fighting ended and the country gained independence, life in the artists' colony began again. As a result, Tengenenge gained worldwide attention through his sculptural work with its specific artistic forms of expression. In 1989, the first exhibition of works from the artist colony in Europe was held in Wageningen , the Netherlands . Since 1995 presentations have been shown in many countries. The works are now internationally known under the term Shona sculptures or generally just Shona art . The participating artists are only partly from the Shona people . Some came from other regions of Zimbabwe and the neighboring countries of Zambia , Malawi and South Africa. At times, artists from countries beyond Africa work here. The artists' colony enjoys gentle tourism due to its supraregional fame, which is subject to restrictions due to the complicated political conditions in Zimbabwe.

Many of the artists who learned their sculpting craft in Tengenenge gained individual fame across the country's borders and were able to hold exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Workshops are held in the artists' colony to this day (2009). On the farm there is an open-air gallery with around 11,000 sculptures by the artists who have worked here so far (over 300).

Tom Blomefield ran the artist colony until 2007. On December 27, 2007, he handed over management to Dominic Benhura at an event .

The raw material for the artist

The serpentinite deposit used for sculpting is in the area of ​​the Umvukwe Range , on the western slope of which the artists' colony is located. The mountains belong to the Great Dyke , which runs through Zimbabwe from north to south and is a ridge with rock sequences of different ages. The most important rocks occurring here include dolerites and ultramafic rocks . As conversion products from the latter, serpentinite emerged as an accompanying rock. Tengenenge Farm is located in the Musengezi Complex , the northernmost geological section of the Great Dyke.

The serpentinite extracted on the farm is the most widely used rock in Tengenenge.

museum

Between 2000 and 2003, a small building complex was built as a museum on the grounds of the artists' colony. Its design comes from the Dutch architect and art collector Geja Stassen , who also took over the construction management. The local serpentinite was used to build the buildings. The museum collection is used to store early works and the memory of the first generation of artists. A foundation in the Netherlands secured the financial basis for this construction project. The museum opened on March 3, 2003 in the presence of the district governor, the Dutch ambassador to Zimbabwe and another 300 guests.

Web links

Coordinates: 16 ° 43 '  S , 30 ° 56'  E