Jacaranda Centre hosts arts exhibition

The newly-opened Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre on Friday opened the 2016 arts exhibition which seeks to support the country’s arts development, particularly among youths.

Speaking during the opening, Jacaranda Orphanage executive director Luc Dechamps, who is also French honorary consul in Malawi, said the exhibition will run up to July 31.

“This is the first exhibition to have since the official opening of the Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre in June this year. The idea is to give Malawian artists a platform to showcase and market their talent and products to a larger audience. And the exhibition is open to all artists,” said Dechamps.

The exhibition includes all kinds of visual expressions such as drawings, batiks, paintings, cartoons, caricature, comic strips, illustration and traditional hangings.

Artists described the development as positive as far as the development of visual arts is concerned in the country.

“The more the country has a number of exhibitions, the more artists have platforms to showcase their talents and market their products,” said Ellias Singano, of the country’s renowned visual artists.

He added that the visual artists’ talent dies due to the lack of platforms such as exhibition fairs which helps to expose them.

But Dechamps said Jaracanda Cultural Centre is committed to promoting all various kinds of arts.

“We want to take Malawi’s cultural and arts development to the next level by creating a space where different activities and programmes could be encouraged and promoted.  The emphasis of the centre is to nurture youths’ potential by giving them platform to showcase their artistic talents,” said Deschamps.