Online Reporter
Irina Anna Bokova and Elaine Tamara French
The name Tony Michel Mhonda is synonymous with the development of the arts in Zimbabwe.
Following over 30 years of art criticism, his intention to create awareness and develop indigenous appreciation for the arts cannot go amiss.
Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the nation has not had an indigenous art critic so steeped in the critical, historical, aesthetic, cultural and socio-economic analysis of Zimbabwean contemporary art; educating audiences worldwide and in the region with his lectures and writings on the arts, culture and history of Zimbabwe.
First published in 1987, in his early 20’s, Mhonda has been the stalwart steward of the visual arts of Zimbabwe for the past 36 years.
A prolific writer and curator of international shows, Mhonda first served as publicity officer for the National Gallery’s ZAVACAD, in 1991, advising the then Minister of Education, Minister of Economic Planning and Finance and the then Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture on the promotion, education and development of the arts of Zimbabwe. Issues pertaining to art and law regarding copyright, intellectual property and protection of traditional knowledge and material culture were proposed by Mhonda with the then Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
In the early 90s Mhonda advised the Office of the President and Cabinet on the acquisition and development of a State House Art Collection based on the Presidential Award of Honour for Visual Arts, during his tenure as deputy head and head of exhibitions of the National Gallery. During his call of duty, Mhonda’s cultural diplomatic approach saw him liaise with a cross-section of interested local, diplomatic and international development partners. He duly courted administrative art and culture institutions (ie: UNESCO), and foreign diplomats and advocated for gender equality, freedom of expression, mutual cultural exchange and co-operation for socio-economic development in Zimbabwe.
At the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Mhonda encouraged the corporate world, development partners, agencies and educational institutions to partner artists and the national gallery in their support programmes and was instrumental in securing several corporate sponsorship agreements; most notably the Anglo-American and Mobil Oil Company’s duel sponsorship for the Zimbabwe Annual Heritage Awards Exhibitions. Other corporate sponsorships secured through Mhonda’s mediation were: Cottco – for textile designers; Mukuyu Wineries in collaboration with Cairns Holdings – for a wine label exhibition, Coca-Cola and Eversharp’s sponsorship for the School’s Annual Exhibition, and the gender sensitive Longman’s Women’s Art Exhibitions, with which he established a network of supporting collectors and patrons for Zimbabwean women artists, and instigated for the Annual Women Artist Award. PG Timbers sponsored the PG Gallery for Young Visual Artists exhibitions.
Through the mass media and public lectures, Mhonda tirelessly appealed to the highest levels of relevant authorities in the Government, the diplomatic community and the private sector advocating for due national recognition of the arts in adjunct to professional vocational training and an increase in international cultural exchange programmes.
His appeals manifested in an honorary degree “Honoraris Causa” programme for eminent artists in Zimbabwe.
Mhonda’s developmental drive was to create a solid foundation for Zimbabwean artists and patrons and to build a productive and economically sustainable creative sector with communities that appreciate, nurture and value creative talent.
An erudite art critic, cultural analyst and historian, Mhonda was associate editor of the National Gallery’s Southern African Art Journal, as well as contributing bi-weekly to the Herald and Sunday Times and The Artist publications.
daniel chigunwe
