Tonight in Harare, 20 artists from Harare and London will present poetry and images at the opening of the first These Images are Stories (TIAS) exhibition with their own answers for the question, “What is a strong woman?”

Speaking on ZiFM recently, young Zimbabwean poet and a participant of the project, Chelsy Maumbe, described a strong woman as one who, “despite her circumstances, despite the stones thrown in her way, is able to pick herself up and be the pillar for everybody who is looking up to her, is able to get herself back up and try again… is able to get herself back up and live her dream.”

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The 20 artists have taken part in the These Images are Stories project which began in April. They have been mentored by leading poets and photographers and developed work around themes that affect them as young women living in an age where they have more rights and opportunities than their mothers but still face many of the same challenges.

The exhibition, which was initially set to open two weeks ago, at Village Unhu in Milton Park, was postponed because Zimbabweans were collectively taking care of Presidential business.

The exhibition launches tonight, November 29, and will run for two weeks at Village Unhu. It will then move to Impact Hub in the Avenues where it will run until the end of the year. It is curated by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s Tandazani Dhlakama.

The Zimbabwean participants taking part in the programme are poets Tanatsei Gambura, Samantha Mukuwaya, Cynthia Marangwanda and Tariro Ndoro and photographers Musa Bwanali, Clarity Sibanda, Zandile Gozo, Tsitsi Ndabambi and Maumbe.

Zimbabwean project participants pictured during one of their workshops in Harare.
Zimbabwean project participants pictured during one of their workshops in Harare.

The UK participants are Hannah Brewer, Randene Cameron, Lamar Alo, Morgan McManus Lee, Sarah Douglas, Jamie Leigh Porter, Balqis Mukhtar, Chloe Oyston and Lucy Elderton.

Marangwanda, an emotive spoken word artist, said that the project reminded her of her love for poetry. “It was really inspiring for me because it reawakened my love for poetry by challenging me creatively. Working with the other women was stimulating and showed me the power of artistic community and sisterhood.”

Photographer, Zandile Gozo said that the project has challenged her. “Working on the project got me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to push my bounderies to define what a strong woman meant to me.”

The project is a partnership between Zimbo Jam Trust, Impact Hub Islington (UK), Impact Hub Harare, All Change Arts (UK), the British Council and the Zimbabwe German Society.

Tadzoka Pswarayi, Founder & Director of Impact Hub Harare, said she was impressed by the highly creative stories that came out of the project, “The main thing that stood out for me was the creativity and stories of the participants themselves. They have shared work around the theme ‘strong women’ when in fact they are the strong women who are showing their power through images and words.”

Stuart Moyo, Zimbo Jam Trust Operations Director, said that he found out through the project the power of training and focus. “This sort of project focuses talent and helps shape it into a profession. It moves random works of art into an art form with purpose and delivered with skill.”

The photographic mentors for the project are Laurie McPherson (Zimbabwe) and Marysa Dowling (UK). The poetry mentors are Batsirai Chigama (Zimbabwe) and Miss Jacqui (UK).