Spreading the gospel with paint

By Andrew Mulenga

Chantelle Mullins with her painting The Majestic Lion of Judah - 
The Messiah, (Acrylic on canvas)

“The eyes pierce your soul. And God begins ministering to your spirit. There are no words to describe His majesty. You stare in awe. At a piece of Heaven on Earth. All this from a Holy Spirit, heavenly inspired painting”, reads part of an exhibition write-up for a painting by daring young South African artist Chantelle Mullins.

Daring because the 23-year-old decides to unapologetically declare her Christian faith and spirituality in an exhibition that is part of a secular arts festival and society that encompasses everyone from the free-thinking, atheist-type academic, the Rastafarian, multi-racial Hare Krishnas and the lawfully liberated gay people.



Chantelle's replica of 15th century master Michelangelo's
famous The Creation of Adam

Not only does she risk being labelled a self-righteous altruist, it is her very first show and launch of her career, and she risks the reality of not making a single sale. But she could not care less, literally. After all, her show at the Albany Museum ends up attracting a steady stream of viewers over a two-week period during South Africa’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown early this month.

“I know very well the work might offend none-Christians, but then God said to me, Channy (the short form of her name) do you want to please man or to please me? So I’m not embarrassed by God, I think he is awesome. People can take it or leave it,” She says in a convincing, silky-smooth voice that resonates with the pious aura of a telephone helpline operator.

Much like the evangelical pastors who profess they commune with God directly, even on a daily basis, so does Chantelle. Where they (pastors) have a pulpit and a congregation, she has paintings and an exhibition space.

Rivers of Living Water
(Acrylic on canvas)

“I have to glorify Him (God) and not brush it under the carpet. At the same time it’s my exhibition if people don’t like it they can leave. Some people walk through quickly; look at me in a funny way as if they have seen a crazy person and leave. But some people walk up to me and share their life stories, burst into tears and then I will pray with them”, she says smiling, evidently gratified.

She says that touching people spiritually through her work means a lot to her and she well understands when they do burst into tears because she has been down that road before.

“I have not always been a Christian so I have been through that journey but now I would like to help set everyone free like me. People go drinking and want to have an alternative reality, they start taking drugs and want to find pleasure, a form of escape, I’ve been there before until I finally met God”, she says.

As a painter, the upcoming artist has not yet developed a definitive style and may still be rightfully exploring with her technique although she does seem to have developed a palette of chalky blues, pale yellows and reds, but of the colour choices too, she says they are divinely inspired.

Her exhibition, however, features some works that she created while at City Varsity in Cape Town where she studied motion picture design which also includes several disciplines of art such as video production, photography, puppetry, sculpture and classical painting. Which explains a marionette dragon floating from the ceiling of the exhibition space as well as a fairly large replica of Florentine master, Michelangelo’s 1510 fresco, The Creation of Adam that showcases some of her pre-celestial talent.

Chantelle’s exhibition may not have been preeminent among the dozens of shows at RSA’s National Arts Festival, but then again belief in her work coupled with the faith that it comes from a higher being gives it a sparkle that the others do not have.

“Because I have a relationship with God I just follow him I walk through his doors and follow his guidance. At the moment I believe he will open greater doors that will lead to greater exposure I hope to become international with my art as a tool to minister to people and get God’s word out there, ultimately it is to glorify Him,” says Chantelle.

Vice President and Head of Communications, Ericsson sub Saharan Africa (Pty) Ltd.
hands the CNN African journalist 2012 Award for Arts & Culture
to Andrew Mulenga, Freelance for The Post Newspaper, Zambia

An arts ministry at long last, now what?

Sylvia Masebo

By Andrew Mulenga

One cannot help but harmonize with the smug expressions on the faces of the artistes from Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) who recently held a gathering to celebrate the re-alignment of the tourism ministry which now includes the arts.

It is now called the Ministry of Tourism and Arts and last week President Michael Sata appointed Sylvia Masebo as minister.

“We have a task, we have a job to make the Zambian people understand that art can create employment”, said Masebo addressing the small crowd of artistes at the ZAM gathering.

Nevertheless, for the minister to say “we have a job to do” may perhaps be an understatement looking at the epic task that lies ahead as a result of the neglect of an entire sector for a period that almost spans the entire post-colonial epoch.

In an interview for this column shortly after the Patriotic Front was voted into power last year, arts writer Roy Kausa said: "I am appealing to government to quickly consider the arts to fall under the tourism ministry. Then with the help of stakeholders the ministry can identify which people can sit on the National Arts Council from the various arts disciplines”.

Obviously at the time Kausa was making these suggestions, he had no idea that his words were prophetic to a certain degree.

 "The minister of tourism should call a meeting where the creative community can sit down and map a way forward otherwise I see no future for the arts if they fall under the ministry of chiefs and traditional rulers, because tourism as well as art is dynamic. Let culture related issues be handled by the chiefs and other traditional rulers", he continued.

Wise words and valid suggestions indeed from Kausa, but his proposals would just be part of the beginning.

A starting point for Masebo and government to strengthen and support role of the arts towards realising a vibrant and diverse creative sector, the anaemic National Cultural Policy of 2003 must be revised as soon as possible. A new cultural policy must set the framework for Government’s constitutionalized support for the arts for the next few years, furnishing us with a collective, planned direction and grounds for investment in the sector.

In the past, government support of the arts was weak because the creative sector was fragmented over too many line ministries this was acknowledge by means of a disclaimer in the National Cultural Policy (2003, p6):

"2.7 Administration and Co-ordination of Cultural Affairs. The Cultural Sector cuts across a number of line ministries such as: 
a) The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (under which the Department of Cultural services and the National Arts Council of Zambia fall); 
b) The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services (under which Zambia Music Copyright Protection Society and film and cinema administration fall); 
c) The Ministry of Tourism (under which the National Museum Board and National Heritage Conservation Commission Falls);
d) The Ministry of Local Government and Housing (under which the administration of Chiefs falls); e) The Ministry of Science Technology and Vocational Training (under which the training of artists in colleges falls); 
f) The Ministry of Home Affairs (under which the national Archives falls).
The above scenario raises the problem of co-ordination for effective and efficient delivery of cultural services to the nation."

But let bye bygones be bygones, the revised cultural policy must formulate and implement the support of professionals and amateurs alike in the disciplines of theatre, music, dance, fine arts, crafts, cinema, fashion, poetry and copyright-related issues, as well as to protect Zambia’s cultural worth and create an annual National Arts Festival that will encompass all these mentioned categories of the arts.

Another thing that belongs in the dustbin, particularly now that tourism and art is under one roof is the Zambia National Tourism Board’s (ZNTB) promotional booklet targeted at tourists and visitors among other things.

If one flips through the pages to the city profiles and travel tips, it elaborately covers banking, climate, etiquette, currency, visa requirements and language among other things but does not mention a single thing about the arts.

There is no mention of the contemporary art scene or works that can be viewed at the National Museum and private collections such as Chaminuka, Villa Lucia and Namwandwe, or the Henry Tayali gallery and Twaya Arts.

Furthermore, there is no mention of the thriving handicrafts markets and curios that can be bought at Livingstone’s Mukuni market, the Kabwata Cultural Village and Arcade’s Sunday market in Lusaka, or even the Twapya roadside market in Ndola.

The Lusaka Playhouse, Kitwe and Chingola little theatres get no reference too, suggesting that theatre is none existent in Zambia and that a visitor cannot catch up with local productions.

Similarly, there are no profiles or consideration of local arts festivals such as the Mwela Arts festival or the Chikuni Music Festival that, according to an insider at ZNTB attracts scores of traditional musicians and over 70,000 villagers annually.

And although it might be delving into foreign affairs territory, a recent comment in the June 2012 edition of the Bulletin & Record magazine by Jack Zimba upon returning from a US State Department sponsored educational trip to Washington DC further highlights the shambolic image of Zambia that Masebo and team will have to consider correcting.

“Being at the Zambian embassy felt like walking into a typical government office back home. We had to wait a couple of minutes before an Asian man appeared at the reception and gave us a not-so-warm welcome. Dirty carpets lined the floors of the embassy offices and the toilet was not up to Washington standards,” writes Zimba “What was even more shocking was that there were posters bearing the old “Zambia, the Real Africa slogan still hanging on the walls of the conference room and reception area. The ZNTB, which markets Zambia’s tourism, rebranded itself last July with a new logo and motto, discarding  the “Zambia, the Real Africa”, which was seen to project the wrong image and adopting “Zambia: Let’s Explore”.

Obviously the tourism booklet and Zimba’s experience insinuate that Zambia is in dire need of re-marketing. As such, sentiments from Livingstone-based veteran artist Benjamin Mibenge who is also a retired graphic designer from what was called the Zambia Information Services come to memory.

“My government too is not doing much for the arts as far as I am concerned. Government should immediately employ or assign people to specifically acquire and decorate our embassies with Zambian art; it used to be done in the 60s and 70s, why not now?” said the 67-year-old who is responsible for redesigning the interiors of the Livingstone and Moto Moto Museum  during an interview with the Saturday Post early this year.

Another item Masebo should consider for the recycle bin would be the annual Ngoma Awards, they are clearly out of date and have been begging for improvement for years. According to sources the awards could not take place last year because of lack of resources, political will as well as uncertainty within the ranks of the arts council as they had no clue to which side the political hammer will fall late last year.

 Winning an art award should be a life changing moment both inspirationally and financially, the prize money given to artistes for the Ngomas being about K1.5m is nothing short of a joke. With government patronage and its business connections, an artiste should be able to walk home with at least a K50m cash prize.

Artists and creative practitioners have been blubbering for government recognition for decades, finally their time has come. However, outsiders may be unaware that the realms of the Zambian arts scene are notoriously factionalized and antagonistic, a truth that many insiders would want to ignore. At this point in time it would be wise for them to work together as a unit if they do not wish to see tourism become the more dominant half of the ministry (which is very likely), and like Masebo says they have a job to do, it is therefore important that they help her help them by being united.

Masebo is an experienced ministerial leader, as well as a trendy fashion icon with an affinity for the arts. Surrounded by the right people, if drawn from the adequate arts administrators and creative individuals whom are not lacking in the country, she is bound to be successful. One only hopes she does not end up with a cadre of PF members that have been waiting in the side-lines for their share of the victory pie or members of the archetypal family tree that has become a norm in post-Kaunda leadership.