Open Call: Zimbabwe on My Mind — Art Writing Workshop

Open Call: Zimbabwe on My Mind — Art Writing Workshop
Dates: 10–12 September 2025
Location: National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ), Harare, Zimbabwe
Deadline for Applications: 10th August 2025

The ARAK Collection, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, invites emerging and mid-career art writers, cultural critics and researchers based in Zimbabwe to apply for a three-day intensive writing workshop in Harare, from 10 to 12 September 2025. The programme will be led by art critic, curator and educator Thembinkosi Goniwe, and will take place at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

Titled “Zimbabwe on My Mind,” the workshop continues a conceptual framework initiated in Lusaka earlier this year, where participants explored biographies of subjects and objects — writing about artists, artworks, archives and spaces through a deeply narrative and imaginative lens. This Zimbabwe edition will expand on that approach by introducing art criticism as an embedded, reflective and context-responsive practice.

Participants will engage with selected artworks from the ARAK Collection online, alongside local artworks, exhibitions and cultural sites The aim is to  explore how both contemporary and historical materials can serve as  anchors for critical and poetic biography. Goniwe’s method encourages analytical yet personal writing, asking: How can a life or an object be read in light of its political, social, or material conditions? How does an artist’s journey reflect a nation’s shifting regimes? Can a studio or an archive embody a biography of its own? What might writing rooted in local experience reveal about broader continental and global dialogues?

The workshop will offer multiple entry points into Zimbabwe’s dynamic cultural ecosystem, including visits to artist studios and  other creative spaces in Harare to support direct engagement.

Guided by Goniwe’s experience as a writer and educator, the three-day workshop will include a mix of writing exercises, group critique and site visits to local artist studios and exhibitions to help participants develop a working draft of a text by the final day.

Application Guidelines:
Interested participants residing in Zimbabwe are invited to submit: 

• A 500-word writing sample (published or unpublished)
• A short motivation (max 250 words) explaining why you wish to join the workshop
• A CV or Biography
• Please provide both email and a reachable telephone number

Please note you must be available to attend all 3 days of the workshop.

Send all materials to: workshop@arakcollection.com by 10th August 2025.

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