Rock art
Pictorial art has been present in Tanzania since its earliest days. The Kondoa site alone covers six prehistoric periods, from 40,000 BC to 3000 BC. Inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List, this complex of 200 caves is spread out on the edges of the splendid Rift Valley. In its rock shelters, all types of rock art are displayed on the walls. Hunting scenes, realistic and totemic animals, human figures, some of which are more than 3 metres high and depict dances and rites. From a stylistic point of view, these drawings are similar to those found in Europe.
Makonde art
The Makonde style is especially concerned with the sculpture and to a lesser extent the painting of southern Tanzania. Traditionally, the Makonde people have always carved their everyday objects as well as their masks in pieces of wood, especially in ebony. When the Portuguese settlers arrived, they did not hide their fascination for the Makonde creations. In response, the Makonde sculptors adapted their techniques and opted for different, more resistant woods. Thus, since these years, a modern Makonde art has developed in Tanzania. It actually gathers several styles. Among these, the traditional Mapiko masks, carved in a single block of light wood to be worn by the dancers. Then comes the Ujamaa style which designates group sculptures, a family or a community arranged around a central character. This trend was brought by Roberto Yakobo Sangwani from Mozambique in the 1950s.
A naturalistic genre, the Binadamu, recalls social roles. Often the men smoke while the women do chores.
An abstract trend emerged around the representation of evil spirits, the Shetani. The greatest representative of abstraction is George Lugwani. The international recognition of Makonde art, since the 1970s, is carried by the artist George Lilanga.From Tingatinga to Lilanga
The legendary painter Edward Saidi Tingatinga (1932-1972) was born into a poor family in the village of Namochelia in southern Tanzania. Christian by his mother and Muslim by his father, he understands very young that he cannot make a career in this remote area. He went to work in the sisal plantations in the north of the country before finding a job working for his uncle in Dar es Salaam in 1968. It was then that he began his first explorations in music and painting. He recycled common materials, ceramic fragments as well as bicycle paint. He developed a naive style, tinged with humour, bordering on surrealism. He painted numerous landscapes in which he juxtaposed emblematic figures of African culture. His works soon became popular with Western residents and tourists, so much so that he made a living from his art and founded the Tingatinga Arts Cooperative Society. There he trained the country's future artists. But he was killed in 1972 when a policeman mistook him for a fugitive. Nevertheless, his style spread to Tanzania, Kenya and much of East Africa
Tingatinga's pupil was George Lilanga, to whom he taught drawing, painting and lithography. Lilanga, who was born in 1934 in Masasi, Tanzania and died in 2005 in Dar es Salaam, grew up in the countryside. It was in this environment that he began training in sculpture in 1961 with the famous Makonde sculptors. The Makonde came from the highlands of Mozambique and settled in the Dar es Salaam region in search of better living conditions. In 1973, George Lilanga founded the artists' collective Nyumba ya Sanaa (House of Arts) and trained with Tingatinga. Lilanga's career is twofold, as he works simultaneously in sculpture and painting. In line with the Makonde culture, his creations evoke the mythical value of women or the dances performed by masked men. Magical thinking is at the heart of Makonde beliefs. For them, the ancestors, the genies, the natural forces maintain them in a restless universe. However, Lilanga stands out by bringing the notion of the individual and therefore of personal talent into the art. This constitutes a major change in the African context. On a formal level, his works show a refined aesthetic sense. He literally transforms the vocabulary of classical sculpture in his engravings. Between ancestral legends and contemporary stories, his works depict the village population to offer a social critique of daily life in Tanzania. His extremely personal style seduces collectors from all over the world. The quantity of his works sold throughout the world reaches such heights that some of them are said to be made by his students. The fact is that George Lilanga has founded a movement in Africa.
Tingatinga School
The painting is now represented by a particular style called Tingatinga, named after an artist who died too soon. Characterized by bright colors and repetitive patterns, the works of apparent simplicity have as subjects wild animals painted from the front, stylized to give them a fantastic look, or scenes of everyday life in the villages, stories of wizards, fables, on a background covered with various plant or animal motifs... All supports are possible: canvases, walls, or all kinds of objects, according to demand. The production is rather uneven. Some artists, who have been able to perfect their skills with the masters, among the forty or so members of the Tingatinga cooperative, produce remarkable original works, while others are content to copy. In Kenya, for example, some are smugglers, and one company has bought the Tinga Tinga copyright. Prices for a canvas vary from 5,000 to over 100,000 TSH, or even 2 million TSH (about €1,000), depending on originality, finish and size.
In Dar es Salaam, the Tingatinga Arts Cooperative Society promotes this tradition through exhibitions and other events. Contemporary Tanzanian artists who continue the legacy of Edward Saidi Tingatinga include Evarist Chikawe, Godfrey Semwaiko, John Kilaka, Thobias Minzi, Robino Ntila, David Mzuguno, Haji Chilonga.The streets of Stone Town
The historic district of the capital of Zanzibar is a mixture of influences. British, Indian, Portuguese, Omani and Swahili contributions intermingle with stunning harmony. In the alleys, the carved doors alternate with the graffiti painted here and there on the walls of the welcoming stone city. You have to get lost among its monuments, temples and palaces to come across some of the 500 doors that adorn the city. These world-famous gates reflected the prosperity of the families. Between its symbols of ancient times, graffiti often esoteric appear without daring to occupy too much space. Ghosts, slave ships, Santa Claus, one encounters all sorts of themes. Away from the lanes, Space Invader has settled in the bush. The famous French street artist, who generally prefers urban areas, has chosen to stand out here. His mosaic characters rub shoulders with the animals of the savannah in Tanzania. Space Invader likes to explore unlikely places. Let's remember that one was launched into space, and another thrown into the waters of Mexico. Why not the bush? The artist's website allows you to locate each of his works more specifically!
Nowadays
A space dedicated to contemporary art opened in Dar es Salaam in 2010. Founded on the initiative of the Danish Embassy, the Nafasi Artspace offers a creative space to 15 Tanzanian artists. International artists are welcomed in residence, their presence giving rise to the "chap chap", an event organized by the resident artist, open to all. During the chap chap, the participants are made aware of new forms of artistic expression. The young generation is trying to break away from the Tingatinga style but lacks exhibition spaces. For them, the best solution remains the associations, because the government does not invest in the visual arts.
Among these artists resolutely turned towards the future, Nayja Suleiman from Zanzibar paints portraits of women with a vibrant look. In Tanzania, Lute Mwakisopile denounces the hard work and the role of artists in contemporary society. Big Mama, Tanzanian Mwandale Mwanyekwa, works with wood sculpture.
Few women manage to break into the art world. Farhat Shukran Juma is lucky to have the support of her family. Only 23 years old, she has been passionate about painting since childhood. It was at the CAC in Stone Town that she trained in artistic techniques before developing the abstract style that has become her signature. To reach a wider audience, she sells her work along with natural soaps. She admits, however, that there is a long way to go before abstract painters feel understood in her country. In contrast, artist Evarist Chikawe has the joy of exhibiting at the Viiana Vipaii Foundation, but he has had to fight his family to pursue his path.
In Zanzibar, the artist Hamad Mbarouk Hamad is also the director of the Cultural Arts Center
. This unique venue provides a space for creation, exhibition and exchange with the aim of strengthening the network and the public. He guides art students and participates in the VAFZ. Mwandale Mwanyekwa is one of the few women who has made her mark on the Tanzanian art scene. The artist is famous for her self-portraits carved in wood. She is often invited to exhibit her sculptures in Sweden, South Africa and the United States.
