ZIMBABWEAN ARTISTS THROUGH THE EYE OF AN ECONOMIC STORM

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Editors

This article explores the trying times experienced by Zimbabwean artists during what is know as the ”THE LOST DECADE”. For ten years Zimbabwe experienced the worst economic depression in its short history. Zimbabwean especially artists endured untold economic and social hardships.During this period many artists had to find strength that there never knew they > possessed ,but others where not that fortunate and succumbed to pressures that these economic hardships came with. For those artists who managed to weather the economic storms, this was all due to their resilience and not giving up on their long-term vision

The first signs that Zimbabwe was sinking into an economic depression was in 1999. Like any storm it first starts with light showers.During that period most Zimbabwean didn’t take much notice of the changing times many thought the slight price increase of basic commodities and services as well as the steady decline of the exchange rate of the Zimbabwean dollar was nothing more then a minor inconvenience.Zimbabwean artists where not an exception for many artists initially welcomed the continued devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar as a blessing in disguise, as the local art market witnessed an upsurge art sales coming from foreign art dealers.For those who couldn’t see the bigger picture the continued devaluation of the Zimbabwean currency was only benefiting the art dealers , as an art dealer could exchange US100 for a bag full of Zimbabwean dollars.

With that bag full of Zimbabwean dollars an art dealer could buy a tonne worth of shona stone sculptures, then and sell one small piece overseas for US500 ,while bigger pieces could fetch as much as US$20 000 to US40 000.One particular story is of a sculptor who sold a a big sculpture for Zim$4000 the equivalent of US$200 , an amount that he spent in a week.This particular artist was fortunate to attend an exhibition in Canada that same year where he saw that same sculpture being sold for 20 000 Canadian dollars.When he saw the sculpture he said ”my stomach turned as it had taken him five months to sculpt that particular piece”.As time went on and the Zimbabwean dollar continued to lose value many artists began to realise that there were not benefiting from the fruits of their labour.Many artists decided to quit art and join the great trek as migrant workers to countries notably South Africa,Britain,The United States of America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. 2007 was the year that Zimbabwe felt the full effects of the economic storm. Inflation was running at a monthly rate of above 1000 percent, and prices for basic commodities where rising on an hourly basis.Imagine going to a shop to buy a loaf of bread only to be told that the price went up in the morning ,you go home to get more cash and when you arrive you told your money is not enough as the price has just gone up again.

Another example is where a person goes to work in the morning with the exact fare for the return trip home only to be told in the evening that the fare has doubled since morning.they was also the case of scarcity of basic commodities where shops had become literally empty as most shop-owners failed to re-stock because of pricing inflationary factors.The main source of basic commodities was the black market where basic commodities mostly smuggled from South Africa and Botswana where found in abundance but at extremely high prices.These factor greatly affected Zimbabwean artists as they found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.The catch 22 situation that Zimbabwean artists had to endure where firstly their diminishing source of income.The fact is the more they worked their income generating capacity continued to decline as a result of extremely high inflation rate and fast dropping exchange rate. Then there was the issue of time wastage of scouting for basic commodities, time which should have been spent on productivity.Some artists who succumbed to these pressure started to sell their trade tools and personal possessions in order to raise income to survive.

By disposing their trade tools these artists where basically making themselves redundant, but it was a case of survival what most artists where focusing on was putting food on the table for their families. The surprise exception of the economic crisis was the rise of the literacy rate in Zimbabwe.In Zimbabwe giving a child a decent education is something thats highly valued.It is deemed taboo not to able to educate ones child and most Zimbabweans made major sacrifices during this period to make sure their children education was not disrupted during the economic crisis.In most instances where countries go through an economic depression most children drop out of school.Instead what happened in Zimbabwe was the complete opposite, the literacy rate actually increased. Zimbabwe managed to achieve a literacy rate of 97% ,the highest in Africa.Education was one the major sacrifices that many artists made for their families and in some case even for their less fortunate extended family members.Zimbabwean artists saw the importance of investing in education in order to secure a better future for the next generation. Through the crisis they where a few artists who managed to weather the storm.These artists managed to see the bigger picture and where quick to face reality of the changing times. They were quick to make adjustment to their personal lives and embarked on belt tighting measures.There took a long-term view of the economic crisis with a general understanding that it was a passing phase, by doing so they became more proactive then reactive to change. These few artists managed to invest heavily in raw material in order to continue sculpting during the economic crisis with general knowledge that they would would lean times ahead in the local art market. With a depressed art market the artists began to view their art-works as assets and investments. The artists who decided to weather the storm and continued to practice the trade through extreme hardships are today realising the full benefits of their personal sacrifices and hard work. Today Zimbabwe is on the road to economic recovery with a growth rate of 9%.

The economy has stabilised since the scrapping of the Zimbabwean dollar and the introduction of the multi currency system where the USA dollar and the South African rand work in tandem as legal tender in Zimbabwe. Currently the economy can be liken to ”a tale of two cities” where the old pillars of the Zimbabwean economy are collapsing while being replaced by a new emerging economy. While the old economic pillars suffer from being obsolete and being overtaken by events the new emerging economy is fast, agile, well informed and can easily adapt to ever changing environments.The new emerging economy is being driven by new and innovative ideas with the aid of the current technology advancements.Zimbabwean art is one such sector to benefit from the new emerging economy in terms of improved marketing methods , which has resulted in the price rice of Zimbabwean art.

The artists today are enjoying full benefits of the fruits of their labour and their general welfare has greatly improved.Most artists look back at the past decade as time of great challenges, they view that period as a defining moment where they had to dig deep for strength to continue being artists. That period could either have broken a person or made them. Its a period they many would not want to re-live and artists today are focusing on the future, rebuilding their lives and making up for time lost during ”The lost decade”.

Michael Kanyuchi