This is the final season to visit ZimArt’s Rice Lake Gallery near Bailieboro, which will be permanently closing on Thanksgiving after 23 years.
Owner and curator Fran Fearnley founded Canada’s only outdoor gallery of hand-carved Shona sculpture, also referred to as Zimbabwean stone sculpture, in 2000.
The avid art collector and former journalist had spent two years volunteering in South Africa, where she was introduced to Shona sculpture in neighbouring Zimbabwe in 1998.
Following her return from South Africa, she founded ZimArt and opened the gallery on her picturesque five-acre farm overlooking Rice Lake, which now features more than 300 hand-carved sculptures from over 50 Zimbabwean sculptors on display outdoors over two acres. It has become a popular cultural destination in the Kawarthas, with many visitors returning year after year.
Since 2001, Fearnley has also hosted a Zimbabwean artist-in-residence every season. This year’s artist-in-residence is Edious (Eddy) Nyagweta, from Rusape which is 170 kilometres east of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. Nyagweta began stone sculpting in primary school with the support and encouragement of his mentor, the late Rusape painter and sculptor Thomas Mukarobgwa.
A highlight of the summer is ZimArt’s annual outdoor exhibition and sale featuring the sculptures of the current artist-in-residence. This year’s exhibition and sale, called Life in Stone, will display Nyagweta’s work in a dedicated area of the outdoor gallery and the artist will be available to talk to visitors about his work.
The exhibition and sale opens from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 5th with a live performance by Izimba Arts, and continues from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Sunday, September 3rd. Admission is free. Free educational tours can also be booked during the exhibition including for school groups, art clubs, and other community groups.
On weekends during the exhibition, a selection of hand-made Zimbabwean crafts and other items will be on sale with all proceeds going to ZimKids Community Support, a Canadian not-for-profit supporting grassroots projects in Zimbabwe.
For the past four years, ZimArt has also hosted an outdoor concert series on Wednesday evenings during the summer. This year’s series features Rick Fines on July 5, Carlos del Junco and The Blues Mongrels on July 19, The Weber Brothers on August 2, Al Lerman on August 16, and Jackson Delta on August 30. Tickets are $40 available in advance by emailing musicatzimart@gmail.com.
The 71-year-old Fearnley is retiring according to The Millbrook Times, and plans to move to the Yucatan in Mexico in the future and possibly write a book about Zimbabwean Shona sculpture.
Located at 855 Second Line Road east of Bailieboro, ZimArt is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. until its final day on Thanksgiving. Admission is free, although donations are accepted.
For more information about ZimArt, visit zimart.ca.
