All-female art exhibition gives hope

The recently concluded Duwa Art Exhibition has given hope, confidence and enthusiasm among the country’s visual artists.

As curtains closed on the  exhibition on Friday, patrons and participants alike reflected on the impact of the event on the local visual arts.

Throughout the two weeks, visitors had an opportunity to appreciate the artworks and interact with the artists, gaining insights into their creative processes and perspectives.

The exhibition further sparked conversations about the need for greater recognition of standard artwork.

Amabel Banda, one of the female visual artists, emphasised the importance of exposure of visual artists in creating meaning in the art world.

“It has been an influential platform for my work and other female visual artists. I am actually surprised that we did not do this earlier and the feedback has been surprisingly amazing.

“As artists, we lack platforms to showcase our works. You could be an artist and still wonder where you will take your painting and who is either going to see or buy the work, but with events like these and galleries, the narrative is changing,” she said.

 Jimmy Malinga, a visual artist, appreciated the standard of artworks that were exhibited.

“The originality, authenticity and style of art in this exhibition is on a different level. I will say women are dominating too and we need more of such works coming from women,” he said.

On her part, the exhibition organiser Evelyn Chisambiro, who is also a visual artist, applauded the feedback saying the auctioned work sold out because people loved the work.

She said the exhibition has done more than showing visual artists of their potential, but also allowing them to look at art as an investment.

“I would encourage buyers of artworks and artists to not just look at the work as a painting bought for the wall at home, but they must start seeing it as an investment considering that a piece of painting increases value after time,” said Chisambiro.

She said the turnout was encouraging and going forward they will be looking to hosting more such events.

“The future of Malawi in visual arts looks bright. We are moving because what we are able to do now was not possible to do a few years ago so this is a plus for visual artists,” said Chisambiro.

The Duwa Art Exhibition featured 10 female visual artists.