A bird’s view of Nyumba ya Sanaa & Culture in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
HERITAGE: There are signs that some Tanzanians are starting appreciating visual art initiatives, but there is still more to do in this
There is a need to appreciate and what is ours and comes from us
Dar es Salaam. “Knowledge is at the heart of social and economic growth. Knowledge relies heavily on shared cultural heritage and on openness to the unknown. To that end, artists have a special role as social barometers, as promoters of change and as repository of tradition…” – (Marina Galvani, ‘Tanzania Knowledge is at the heart of development’—A letter from the head curator of the World Bank art program to the National Arts Council).
They say “a journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step”. The initiative to rescue a piece of Tanzania’s cultural heritage, the late George Lilanga’s stucco portico and Shetani gates that graced the entrance to Nyumba ya Sanaa (Kiswahili for ‘House of Art’), is evidence for one of the many first steps that the Tanzanian public seem to (of late) be taking towards its journey to a cultural awakening.
Until recently and despite its attempt to develop a comprehensive cultural policy (Sera ya Utamaduni—1997) with specific strategies for art promotion (visual art included), Tanzania remained one of the least developed visual art scenes among developing countries with a rather rudimentary sense of art appreciation.
Tanzanian art and artists have also been, generally, the least (re)presented in major hubs for contemporary art—like art biennales, major exhibitions, art fairs, etc.—internationally and including the ones that take place on the continent. This ‘underperformance’ in the field is, arguably, one of the manifestations of the extent to which there is a gap between the Cultural Policy as a ‘statement of intent’ and its implementation; and a reflection of the fact that the great majority of creative and cultural productions in Tanzania had for the longest time taken place in an environment in which there is little or no coherent strategy for investment in education and training.
Visual art has for the longest time been, to most Tanzanians, considered as a craft—a mere hobby that just about anyone could learn. And not surprising, considering the fact that it is not until university level that art is (seriously) taught as a subject—in lower levels, elements of art skills are integrated in vocational skills subject, which teachers complain they have no skills to teach and therefore chances for a few gifted children with parents who appreciate art happen in a few circles and outside the schools.
We artists occupy a very peculiar place in class structure—I include myself in this ‘we’ here because I am too working from within the country both as a visual artist and as the artistic manager responsible for designing and running most of Nafasi Art Space programs—the only existing contemporary art space in the country. Working with our hands and consuming a great amount of time and materials creating objects, we are labourers… labourers to a culture whose community we some day hope to see evolve to love and appreciate art. The discomfort that I, as Tanzanian artist, associate with laboring for my art somehow gets pushed further and further away and the labor starts to feel more worth it when I see Tanzanian art beginning to gain recognition as our society starts to appreciate art more and more these days. This could, perhaps, be a result of the exposure brought about by projects and events initiated and/or supported by spaces like Alliance Française, Goethe Institute Tanzania, and the likes; as well as personal initiatives that provide workshops, trainings, exchanges, exhibitions and other public involving events and activities offered by art practitioners and professionals through various NGOs and arts networks – the likes of Nafasi Art Space.
Long before any of these initiatives ever existed, the late ‘Baba wa Taifa’ (Father of the Nation) Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere established Nyumba ya Sanaa in 1974, positioning it in the middle of Dar es Salaam to ensure sustainability of art, and to create opportunities for artists to produce and survive on their own. He believed that if it could be efficiently utilized, it would reduce the artists’ begging syndrome to donors and the state, which enslaves them. Nyumba ya Sanaa was for the longest time, the leading center for art in Dar es Salaam and was responsible for some very big names in Tanzanian visual art like Robino Ntila, Augustino Malaba, Francis Imanjama, Evarist Chikawe… just to mention a few.
The late George Lilanga, one of the most famous and internationally acclaimed Tanzanian artists, a visual art giant in his own right, began his career at Nyumba ya Sanaa and went on to become a major representatives in the field to the point where his paintings and sculptures are often featured on the cover of many reference books dealing with the subject.
His works have travelled the world and even form a part of several museums and private permanent collection (e.g. the Jean Pigozzi collection). He was an all rounded artist who succeeded in using a distinctive traditional imaginary and, by bringing in his own visual language in the creation of his works, making of it an art of universal appeal.
His sculptures, reliefs and paintings have been the (un)conscious inspiration for many artists in the world and mostly in Europe—as many would attribute to African traditional art as inspiration for the modernist movement with Picasso and Cezanne, Lilanga is an icon, representing Tanzania, of the kind of creativity and originality that sparks from Africa to ignite the world.
The National House of Culture is alleged to, at the moment, be facing a resource crunch to an extent that it is forced to overcharge the rate for its exhibition halls, so much that most artists are not even able to afford showing their works there, and to rent out some of its acreage to weddings and other non-art related events. With this harsh reality, there is no telling what the fate of this unique heritage will be, but, through public mobilization there has, so far, been willingness for collaboration and support (financial and otherwise) from a number of Tanzanian creative, public and private organisations to ensure that plans are underway for the National House of Culture to transform the museum’s inner courtyard into a Lilanga courtyard—a space for art education and creative exchanges.
In many countries, the development and success in the visual art field is partly made possibly by support from the government, but largely carried by supporters, sponsors, collectors, etc. from within the community itself. As a Tanzanian artist, I find the fact that the Tanzanian public is beginning to care for the fate of visual art (as demonstrated by this initiative) and are beginning to be at the front row in the steering of the development of the sector very encouraging.
The author is a new media artist and the artistic manager of Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam.
