Standing next to his work, Job Theofil looks for a knowing gaze to stop at his side. Suddenly, a woman approaches and Theofil finally breathes a sigh of relief: “This painting symbolizes a duality; my darkest, traumatic and negative part, but also all the people who give me hope,” he explains carefully. At 23 years old, he presented his work to the public for the first time in , one of the main artistic spaces in , a center that, since 2008, has exerted a great influence on the direction of contemporary art at the national level. “Art is my way of representing the root of my problems and what helps me overcome,” he tells this medium. However, he acknowledges that eight months ago “he would not have been able” to make this reflection. Nafasi has been his driving force.
a former professor at the University of Dar es Salaam and a founding member of Nafasi, remembers the days when the academy came to life: “At first it was just an empty piece of land with a large abandoned building in the background.” Now one of the leading artistic centers in Tanzania, Nafasi owes its foundation to Danish royalty: “When Queen Margaret II visited Dar es Salaam in 2008, she asked us artists if we had any space where we could meet and create. It was then that the Danish embassy decided to support us financially, and did so for more than 10 years. From there Nafasi is born,” explains Professor Jengo.
That large building still stands at the end of the same dirt road in the Mikocheni B neighborhood, although it is no longer alone. Throughout its 16 years of history, a dozen studios, a film club, several galleries, a store, multiple classrooms, a theater and a stage have been added to the space to give shape to what, according to Firdaus Mbogho, responsible for the visual arts department, is Nafasi today: “The only multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the country, a free space where artists of different origins and visions come to learn and create.”
Now resident artists create in their studios, students attend lessons on the history of African art from eminent figures such as Professor Jengo, aspiring filmmakers present audiovisual proposals, engraving workshops, international residencies, exhibitions, concerts, evening talks, works are held. of theater… “It’s a place where people start; a starting point to help you build yourself as an artist,” Mbogho points out.
Its star project, the Academy of Contemporary Art, founded in 2019, currently has 14 students selected through an open call process, and is one of the few spaces in the country that offers artistic education opportunities for those who cannot access it. to the higher education system, either because of qualifications or because of the inability to pay the costs.
It’s a place where people start; a starting point to help you build yourself as an artist
Firdaus Mbogho, head of the visual arts department
Theofil’s paintings, before joining the center, did not go through a creative process. He describes them as the result of his pencil and him “having fun.” However, after eight months as a student, his skills have evolved. “I have learned that to create I need to immerse myself in a process of reflection, and thus, prepare and express an idea,” he adds.
The exhibition Inner Mirror It is a clear example of how the academy works. “It is the result of a seven-week project: one of theory and self-identification, four of mentoring and a final week of production. We focus more on finding their voice than on the production itself,” explains its coordinator, Simon Sogodi.
A change in the way of understanding art
Tanzania’s vibrant art scene wasn’t always what it is today. Professor Jengo, now 88 years old and one of the people who has contributed most to the expansion of contemporary art in Tanzania, remembers that, when the British ruled his country, art was reserved for British and Asian schools. “This was applied in all the African colonies that they administered,” adds Jengo.
With the advent of Tanzania’s independence in 1961, the first president, , devised an ambitious campaign to revive and promote pre-colonial traditions in order to redefine and build a national cultural identity. Foreign cultural organizations such as the Alliance Française, the Goethe Institute or the Danish Center for Culture and Development played an important role and enriched the art scene in the country.
Now transformed into the national economic capital, Dar es Salaam hosts a modern and contemporary artistic atmosphere. Dominicus Makukula, a specialist in African art and professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, explains to this medium that the change today is evident: “The conception of art in Tanzania has always had very defined purposes: to educate, entertain, criticize and preserve.” . However, he believes that contemporary and modern artists are now breaking away from this and creating for themselves. “Globalization has had an undeniable role,” he clarifies.
Tanzanian artists often limit themselves to depicting giraffes, zebras or beaches, thinking that is what sells.
Said John, visual artist
A springboard to success
Sabi John, one of Nafasi’s resident artists, remembers that she arrived in 2019 from Arusha, her hometown, to Dar es Salaam with the dream of becoming an artist. Although she always knew she wanted to dedicate herself to art, John acknowledges that it was at the academy where she discovered the artists who helped her become who she is today: “The training and the guest artists helped me gain confidence and improve my way of understanding art.” art, and above all not to be afraid to experiment.”
In March, John presented his first major solo exhibition, I woke up from my dream too early, which she herself defines as “a fusion of roots and culture with abstract and contemporary elements.” His perspective on art is different than what he considers most people to do. “Tanzanian artists often limit themselves to depicting giraffes, zebras or beaches, thinking that is what sells. I believe that we have much more to express, that is why I chose to approach my art differently,” he adds.
John sold two pieces before the exhibition ended and received several commissions. “I couldn’t believe it. This drive is essential as an artist, and I will continue to use the platform that Nafasi offers me to continue creating.”
Like Sabi John, Pius Matunge also trained in the same classrooms. The former student of the Academy of Visual Arts is now manager and cultural curator at MAZI Arte y Cultura, a project that was born after his training at the academy. Matunge was the only Tanzanian selected through the French Institute’s mobility program to attend the Venice Biennale. “It improved my understanding and skills, particularly in curatorial practices and managing an art space, which helped me establish my own program,” he says.
Matunge’s is a repeating pattern: artists who are now prominent on the national scene have honed their skills, opened their own artistic spaces or advanced their careers thanks to Nafasi. This is, for example, the case of Lutengano Mwakisopile, president of the Association of Fine Artists of Tanzania, who studied at the center for 10 years. He has been one of the artists who have exhibited this year in the national pavilion that Tanzania had for the first time at the Venice Biennale. “Exhibiting there is as if a local soccer team were playing in the World Cup,” he describes.
