Sculptors master the art of logistics

Zimbabwe’s stone artists have had to master logistics and web marketing in order to create new markets following a dramatic drop in visitor numbers in 2000 after the occupation of white-owned farms by war veterans and widely reported violence in the country. On the plus side, tourists are returning in their thousands, with over a million visitors in 2014, according to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimates. Zimbabwean tourism has received a boost through the award of the 2014 World Best Tourist Destination title by the European Union Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT). The award is in recognition of the promotion of eco-tourism and the successful convening of the 20th session of the World Tourism Organisation General Assembly conference in 2013. The council named Zimbabwe as the World Best Tourist Destination for 2014 and receiver of the Favourite Cultural Destination distinction for 2014, despite economic challenges facing the country. There is, however, little sign of the tourist revival in the capital Harare. The opening of a new international airport at the main tourist attraction of Victoria Falls is seen to have taken a sizeable percentage of tourist traffic away from the capital. Visitors tend to include Victoria Falls into a regional tour, which leaves little time to explore the rest of the country. They spend an average of three days or less in Zimbabwe, according to official statistics. Ever resourceful, some artists have taken their art to the customer rather than waiting for the customer to come to them – using the Internet. The ready availability of affordable data in Zimbabwe has helped artists like Chenjerai Chiripanyanga to the world. Artists have their own websites or Facebook pages which are updated using smartphones or Internet cafes. There are also a number of galleries that display the work of the artists on the Internet. Africanmastersofstone. co.uk, for example, states it is not a “wholesaler of African sculpture, but deals directly face to face with the artists themselves. “Each sculpture is unique in its own right, conceived in the artist’s imagination. Many of our artists have exhibited in Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.” CAPTION There are weeds growing between the sculptures in the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Avondale as tourists stay out of the capital, Harare.