La Galleria in Myths of Malawi Art Exhibition
The Myths of Malawi Art Exhibition which started in Blantyre is now in Lilongwe having officially been opened yesterday at La Galleria.
The Myths of Malawi is an exhibition that brings together the works of German and Malawian artists.
The project spearheaded by German art historian Kris Heide and Ellis Singano started off with a symposium in Blantyre followed by an exhibition at La Caverna before coming down to La Galleria.
Heide said on Wednesday that people should visit La Galleria for the exhibition which runs up to June 25.
“We are ready for Lilongwe, we have a beautiful room for the paintings and I would like to comment Elson Kambalu for the excellent eye for arts,” she said.
Kambalu, who owns La Galleria, said they are prepared for the exhibition.
“We expect very good participation as Lilongwe has been quiet in terms of exhibitions and we believe people might want to sample this artists’ union. Twenty four pieces of art will be on display and people should expect great work from these great artists,” he said.
Kambalu described the exhibition as special as it is a union of two nationalities all with their own approaches and outlook towards life and yet tackling the same issue at hand of Malawian myths.
“The artists are telling lots of stories through the paintings and they range from death, sicknesses to religion. We have also managed to include a veteran Kaligo player, a traditional instrumentalist, who will play together with Apatsa Kwilimbe and colleagues,” said Kambalu.
Myths of Malawi is related to the oral storytelling tradition of Malawi and according to Heide, there is an immanent connection between the two art languages of free storytelling, interpretation, embellishment and fine arts.
Heide noted that the tradition of storytelling in Malawi is only little recorded and the sentiments were shared by Eva Chikabadwa during an exibition in Blantyre who said there are lots of stories which need to be documented.
During the exhibition in Blantyre, Chikabadwa and Singano told stories of Kamdothi and Pheluzunje respectively through their works.
Apart from Singano and Chikabadwa from Malawi, other artists taking part in the exhibition are Gilbert Mpakule, Peter Paul Ndyani, Kenneth Namalomba, Theophany Nammero, George Mkumbula and David Mzengo.
The other German artists who are part of the project apart from Heide are Mark Krause, Karl Dautermann and Michael Plaetschke. The exhibition is also expected to take place in Berlin, Germany next year.
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