Mutare National Gallery of Zimbabwe at Kopje House
The historical nature of the building, the highly polished warmth of the wooden floors and open uncluttered space of the white painted walls and its situation slightly away from the hub of the city centre make the National Gallery a most congenial setting for the serious showcasing of works of art.
When visited there was a bright and cheerful welcome from the staff, an entertaining and enjoyable exhibition of work by a Harare artist, the permanent exhibits were well displayed in the gallery and surrounding grounds.
Along with the Mutare Museum, The National Gallery in Mutare should be on every visitors list for Mutare.
Head north toward the mountains up Herbert Chitepo Street, turn right into Eleventh Avenue, Kopje House is at No. 122 on the corner of Third Street and Eleventh Avenue
GPS reference: 18⁰57′58.55″S 32⁰40′37.77″E
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare was opened in 1999 at Kopje House, a historical building built in 1897 and the first hospital in Mutare. It was declared a Monument in the late 1970s and thereafter became a Culture House under the custody of the National Museums and Monuments.
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe Mutare has five members of staff under the leadership of the Regional Director, Elizabeth Muusha and the Gallery runs an annual exhibitions programme choosing to show a selection of work from the Harare gallery, while offering local artists the much needed opportunity to demonstrate their talent and display their work.
The gallery shop is bright and cheerful with cushions, batiks, basket ware, beaded animals, jewellery and carvings attractively displayed.
There is an air of optimism and welcome about the National Gallery in Mutare that is generated by the staff who obviously love the ambience and dynamism of their Gallery. It is a good example of how good leadership and enthusiasm at a local level can more than offset the lack of direction and inconsistencies of policy at a national level.
