KOSTA LILANGA

The exact place and date of Lilanga's birth are uncertain, although he said that he was born in 1934 in the village of Kikwetu, Masasi district, in the Mtwara Region of southern Tanzania.[2]The main gate of the Nyumba ya Sanaa cultural centre in Dar es Salaam with sculptures by LilangaGeorge Lilanga (right) and fellow painter Patrick Francis Imanjama outside Nyumba ya SanaaLilanga's parents were both Makonde (an ethnic group living both in Mozambique as well as Tanzania). His father was an agricultural labourer, who worked on the sisal plantations, and he had two brothers, who died before him. Lilanga attended primary school for only three years.[3] In the works of his latter years, which were dedicated to village life, he returned many times to representation of his memories of happy moments, when school students received their diplomas.[according to whom?]In 1970, Lilanga decided to move to Dar es Salaam, where there were greater opportunities for selling sculptures and practising contemporary art. In 1971, he found his first employment, thanks to his uncle, Augustino Malaba, an already well-known sculptor, who would be his future collaborator. He started as a night guard at the House of Art (Nyumba ya Sanaa), a cultural centre for the development of African art and craftsmanship in Dar es Salaam. In 1982, he created wooden doors with colourful bunk shetani figures for this cultural centre. After the Nyumba ya Sanaa was destroyed, these doors were bought and restored by a German collector and are documented in the book George Lilanga: The Doors of Nyumba ya Sanaa.[4]As a modern artist in his own right, he joined other artists like Robino Ntila, Augustino Malaba and Patrick Francis Imanjama. He also began to create paintings on batik cloth, on goatskin and on metal sheets for the finishing of railings and gates of the centre.[5]Like other modern Tanzanian artists, Lilanga frequented the art circles of the increasingly successful Tingatinga school, but always maintained his own style. After 1972, he became essentially a painter, and some of his works were presented at Dar es Salaam's National Museum in 1974.Lilanga's talents were recognized by Maryknoll Sister Jean Pruitt, an American aid worker promoting Tanzanian art. In 1977, he made his first journey outside Africa, travelling to New York, where he had a show at the Maryknoll Sisters' Ossining Center in New York State. He stayed for a brief time in Manhattan, selling prints made on paper or cardboard, standing on street corners.