Does anyone know of contemporary art in Tanzania? I´m interested both in fine arts and handicrafts.
Have been to the sculpture school in Bagamoyo, but that´s it so far.
At Bagamoyo they work with stonesculpture, mostly portraits. I say they´re really skilled, these guys.
Maybe there aren´t so many tanzanians visiting The Straight Dope?
Well, I lived in Tanzania for 8 years, and the only major forms of art I saw were Tinga-tinga paintings (stylised animals drawn with bicycle paint, for those of you who don’t know) and Makonde statues (ebony). If you go to the arts and crafts market in Dar-es-salaam, you can just walk around and see people work, if you’re more interested in how they work and if you want to talk to the artists. The market I’m thinking of is just inland from Oysterbay - go down Toure drive, then (if you’re coming from town) turn left just past Oysterbay hotel, then the market, as far as I remember, is somewhere at the end of that road.
People specialising in these arts can be really skilled, but there isn’t much of a demand for art in Tanzania except for tourists. Most people can’t afford to have art at home anyway, and either way, music seems to be more highly prized than visual art there.
As an aside, in Uganda, which is at least similar in culture to Tanzania, there is virtually no visual art (for the sake of art, that is - shop decorations and murals don’t count) around except what foreigners bring with them.
Interesting.
Have you been to some good concerts in Tanzania. Or some other kind of music events?
What kind of music is popular over there?