Zimbabwean Artists Fast Forward to the Greener Future of Work
In July 2019 the Green enterPRIZE Innovation and Development Programme, supported by the Government of Sweden, sent out the "Fast Forward Competition for the Arts" call to artists from across Zimbabwe to express through arts the changing world of work. The categories were illustration and painting, photography, music, poetry and any mix.
13 November 2019
The creative economy – including architecture, arts and crafts, marketing and advertising, media and publishing, research and development, software, computer games – thrives through the intersection of culture, technology, business and innovation. In 2015, it contributed $509 billion to the global economy
Thirty-four (34) finalists were selected from over 80 submissions in the various categories. 29 artists made it to the final submission the winners were selected by judges including acclaimed Zimbabwean artists Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Albert Nyathi, Chaz Maviyane-Davies and Fred Zindi.
The five category winners were announced at the official Awards Night that took place at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on 31 October 2019.
In the Illustration and Painting category, Webster Mubayirenyi’s winning artwork, ‘Harnessing Renewable Energy’ shows a peasant farmer applying modern farming techniques to maximize on the harvest as well as using cheap renewable energy in the form of wind-driven turbine and solar.
Daniel Chandimhara’s song ‘Green Economy’ won the Music category. He is inspired by Zimbabwe legends Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Jah Prayzah among others and his piece is a modern Zimbabwean popular song with a serious undertone.
Poet Wadzanai Tadhuvana grew up reading lots of books. Her parents and grandparents also told her vivid stories which created the fertile grounds for her active imagination. Her winning poem ‘A New Day, New Possibilities’ celebrates the journey that she and many others have travelled to become the first in many generations to be formally employed and to have good jobs.
Artist Victor Nyakauru used found objects to create the winning piece in the Mix and Other Visual category. It features a tree stump with mushrooms sprouting off it to highlighting how mushrooms have helped communities lead sustainable lives. Victor Nyakauru is a mixed media visual artist who studied art at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. His themes are rooted in the world of animals and the environment.
Photographer Martina Gruber’s winning entry ‘Our Responsibility Begins with the Power to Imagine’ invites the viewer to look through a window into the changing world of work. “Art is nothing without imagination. The role of the arts in a green economy can be significant when artists deal with the real issues that mirror the corner pillars necessary for the transition into a sustainable, fair and equal future empowering marginalised groups”.
A transformative change is happening in the world of work. It is driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change action and globalization, all of which have a profound impact on the nature and future of work, the workplace and dignity of the people in it. New approaches in the way we work, live, produce and consume, can become drivers of inclusive and environmentally sustainable development. In return, greener economies and low-emission development strategies can deliver new jobs, and better opportunities for social inclusion.
The Green enterPRIZE Innovation and Development Programme, implemented in collaboration with Government of Zimbabwe, Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, aims to create 2,000 new jobs while making 1,000 existing jobs more sustainable through ‘greening’ interventions and improved working conditions. By the end of the programme, at least 3,000 young women and men from 20 training institutions will have gained technical and business skills for green jobs and sustainable enterprise development.
The Fast Forward Competition for the Arts was jointly organized by the ILO Office in Harare, in collaboration with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the Culture Fund, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and the British Council.
Thirty-four (34) finalists were selected from over 80 submissions in the various categories. 29 artists made it to the final submission the winners were selected by judges including acclaimed Zimbabwean artists Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Albert Nyathi, Chaz Maviyane-Davies and Fred Zindi.
The five category winners were announced at the official Awards Night that took place at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on 31 October 2019.
Daniel Chandimhara’s song ‘Green Economy’ won the Music category. He is inspired by Zimbabwe legends Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Jah Prayzah among others and his piece is a modern Zimbabwean popular song with a serious undertone.
Poet Wadzanai Tadhuvana grew up reading lots of books. Her parents and grandparents also told her vivid stories which created the fertile grounds for her active imagination. Her winning poem ‘A New Day, New Possibilities’ celebrates the journey that she and many others have travelled to become the first in many generations to be formally employed and to have good jobs.
A transformative change is happening in the world of work. It is driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change action and globalization, all of which have a profound impact on the nature and future of work, the workplace and dignity of the people in it. New approaches in the way we work, live, produce and consume, can become drivers of inclusive and environmentally sustainable development. In return, greener economies and low-emission development strategies can deliver new jobs, and better opportunities for social inclusion.
The Green enterPRIZE Innovation and Development Programme, implemented in collaboration with Government of Zimbabwe, Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, aims to create 2,000 new jobs while making 1,000 existing jobs more sustainable through ‘greening’ interventions and improved working conditions. By the end of the programme, at least 3,000 young women and men from 20 training institutions will have gained technical and business skills for green jobs and sustainable enterprise development.
The Fast Forward Competition for the Arts was jointly organized by the ILO Office in Harare, in collaboration with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the Culture Fund, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and the British Council.