DIRECTOR of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Bulawayo, Butholezwe Kgosi Nyathi (pictured), has hailed the response from the public after the institution embarked on virtual tour of their running exhibitions describing it as positive.
BY SHARON SIBINDI
This comes after the institution went digital last week Tuesday as a way of keeping exhibitions vibrant during the ongoing lockdown and enhancing virtual tours.
“As the NGZ Bulawayo remains closed in light of COVID-19, we are delighted to present you with an updated virtual tour of our running exhibitions,” Nyathi told NewsDay Life & Style.
“The public response to our virtual tour has been very positive and to us that has come as a huge encouragement that our digital (platform) has a ready audience out there. Gratitude to Divergent Lab Zimbabwe, our partners in the on-going digital transformation exercise.”
He said the development has brought the global village together and people were fascinated by what they see in the institution.
“The beauty is that it expands our audience beyond Bulawayo to the rest of the country, regional and even international. So, beyond COVID-19, we had adopted progression towards digital exhibitions and will move even greater vigour because clearly there is demand for the kind of products that we are now offering,” he said.
Nyathi said one of their digital exhibitions meant to open on May 8 had to be postponed due to the outbreak.
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“We were meant to open our first digital exhibition on May 8 but because of COVID-19, we will have to postpone that to a later date in the year,” he said.
“Meanwhile, we will be doing these international digital exhibitions to keep the gallery space alive because our belief is that culture should endure.”
The exhibition includes “Amafa Ethu: Objects of the South” where the institution shows an ethnographic collection from various ethnic groups in the southern region.
The exhibition juxtaposes historical Zimbabwean utility objects such as clay pots, drums, baskets, and stools from the 1960s in a contemporary display as objects of aesthetics.
