The Sunday Mail
Nicole Chiimba
AWARD-WINNING visual artist Tafara Magumise believes the artwork he did for musician Pah Chihera during the Covid-19 lockdown was the magic wand that opened floodgates of opportunities for him.
After getting some meagre earnings for the portraits he did for couples on Valentine’s Day in 2019, there was nothing much to do for the 24-year-old until Pah Chihera came along.
After doing some artwork for the “Runonzi Rudo” singer, the number of referrals from the musician increased tremendously. This later resulted in the artist winning a number of accolades and getting nominated for important awards.
Magumise is now looking forward to scooping a prize in the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA).
“I am keeping my fingers crossed. I entered my artwork in several competitions, among them NAMA. I am confident that I will grab something at the awards ceremonies,” Magumise said.
Magumise — who won prizes in the Morgan and Co Artspiration Awards and in the artHarare Africa awards — said art was natural to him.
“For me, art is God-given and I pursue it without putting much effort. Besides the passion I have for it, art is something that was ingrained in me before I was even born,” Magumise said.
He is using art to bring out the issues affecting humanity.
“My strategy is to become the voice of the voiceless. I strive to become a narrator of untold stories of abuse, injustice, gender imbalance and stereotyping,” he added.
His long-term goal is to become a full-time artist, who can hold his own solo exhibitions.
“Although I have won several accolades, my career is still in its infancy. I have a very long list of goals that I intend to achieve. One of the goals is to hold a solo exhibition at a local gallery,” said the artist, who is also pursuing a career in the cyber security sector.
According to Magumise, the journey to stardom can be long and arduous.
“In life, one has to work hard to become successful. For me to become a household name, I need to put a lot of effort into my work. A long and tortuous road awaits me,” he reckons.
Magumise also won some awards in competitions organised by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the Artillery Gallery and the SayWhat, as well as the Swedish Embassy (the SRHR challenge).
