Neigbourhood sculpture project

On Friday June 29th 2007, the festive opening for the sculpture route in the Damast Street and Spaarnoog Street was celebrated. It was the end of a long process to get Art from Mutare into this neighbourhood. The residents, the housing corporation and the City Link were all very pleased with the result.

Two sculptors Agri Pikirayi and Dadid Chimuka, chairman and secretary for the Manicaland Visual Arts en Crafts Association, were visiting Haarlem for this opening.

One of the sculptures in the Damast Street

Damast Street and Spaarnoog Street

Project background
The neighbourhood of the Damast Street and the Spaarnoog Street (in between the prison and the railway track) has been demolished and rebuild completely over the past few years. At the end of September 2005 the renewed area had its festive opening.

Haarlem’s local government, together with the housing corporation ‘Elan Wonen’ has raised funds to realize one (or more) pieces of art by one (or more) artist from Mutare to symbolize the connection between Haarlem and Mutare. The final result was 40 sculptures made by eighteen different artists.

During her visit in Mutrare in 2005, project artist Marjolijn Boterenbrood met many capable and inspired artists. These artists were very enthusiastic about the proposal to integrate Zimbabwean art in a Dutch neighbourhood. A temporary concept and a theme were developed after meeting with the Mutarese artists. The theme and a couple of pieces of art were presented during the opening of the neighbourhood.

Theme for the art in the neighbourhood is ‘animals’. Animals are considered important in both modern and traditional Zimbabwean art. Every group of people, or a big family, has his own animal as a good-luck charm. This mascot is the animal whose characteristics move over to such group. Traditionally it were also the artists who personified them.