Zimbabwe is known for its incredible natural beauty, history and rich culture, and an exhibition in Dubai is highlighting those aspects with a collection of works showcasing the country's traditional Shona sculptures.
Mestaria Gallery in Alserkal Avenue is hosting a group exhibition titled The Shona Collective until Friday, featuring works by nine Zimbabwean artists who create sculptures from carved stone using techniques and styles unique to the country.
Demitris Petrides founded The Shona Collective atelier in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, where the exhibiting artists create their work. As the curator of the new group exhibition, he was passionate about introducing Shona artists’ work to new audiences and, in the process, changing the perception of Zimbabwe.
“My main core artists from the Shona collective are all from different walks of life,” Petrides tells The National. “Every single one has a different style. That's the beauty of this Shona collective movement. There's nothing that's similar.”
The exhibition showcases figurative, stylised and abstract pieces made from a number of stones indigenous to Zimbabwe, with interesting textures and surfaces.
From graceful figures and abstract geometric shapes to horses and flying birds, the works are meticulously hand-carved.
“If you showed 10 people one of the modern sculptors' works and asked them to guess where it's from, they would have no idea that it's Zimbabwean,” Petrides says. “And then when they hear the story about the stone and the history of the art movement, they become really interested in it.”
Shona is the predominant tribe in Zimbabwe, as well as the name of the language. The Shona art movement is not dominated by one particular style, but by many varying aesthetics and visual perspectives under the umbrella of sculpture.
Shona sculpture emerged in Zimbabwe during the 1960s, when the first generation of sculptors started to experiment with indigenous stone from the land. Back then, they were predominantly using spring stone, a dark grey serpentinite, creating minimalist work that wasn’t considered technically sophisticated.
But by the late 1980s, a second generation of sculptors emerged, using a wider variety of stone and experimenting with techniques. New materials included green opal, a softer stone with a marble-like surface; cobalt, which contains a mixture of colours, including gold, green, purple and grey; dolomite, a pure white stone and leopard stone, a bright green and yellow stone.
Pieces by some well-known second-generation artists, such as Lovemore Bonjisi and Witness Bonjisi, also known as the Bonjisi brothers, are included in the group exhibition. Both artists draw inspiration from the work of Pablo Picasso, particularly his use of sharp lines, hard edges and exaggerated forms.
Picasso himself was heavily influenced by African sculpture, traditional African masks and other forms of African art, which he studied in the early 1900s.
The collection also includes the works of one of the movement’s most famous sculptors, Dominic Benhura. Extremely stylised and playful, Benhura’s pieces explore the subject of family, predominantly mothers and children engaged in everyday, intimate moments of joy.
Gregory Mutasa is another prominent Shona artist whose works are on show. He creates beautifully crafted one-off pieces of bathing figures, often with flowing hairstyles and delicate poses, which have made his work instantly recognisable and coveted by collectors around the world.
Other artists include David White, Bywell Sango, Gregory Tawanda Makore, Royal Katiyo and Leonard Shezendo, all of whom have varying styles, perspectives and techniques.
This diversity of practice within Shona Art, Petrides believes, is one of the strengths of the movement, not only catering to different tastes, but also presenting a varied picture of Zimbabwe's culture.
“What we try to do and what the artists try to do is bring out more happiness through the stones and through this art form,” he says. “When people find out this work is from Zimbabwe they think it’s fascinating. So the artists themselves and me, we try to bring out the positive side of Zimbabwe to the world.”
The Shona Collective group exhibition runs at Mestaria Gallery in Alserkal Avenue until Friday
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Read more about the coronavirus
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To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
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The five pillars of Islam
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Amith's selections:
5pm: AF Sail
5.30pm: Dahawi
6pm: Taajer
6.30pm: Pharitz Oubai
7pm: Winked
7.30pm: Shahm
8pm: Raniah
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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