HARARE - Doreen Sibanda, executive director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe said applications are now welcome for the gallery’s school of visual arts and design for 2013.

Submission entries closes on November 30.

Sibanda said the school previously called BAT workshop situated in Mbare, was this year formally registered with the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and is set to become the first fully-functional exclusive Art and Design Tertiary facility.

“The school had its first student intake in January 2012. The students will be awarded qualifying Certificates of Achievements and Competence in Visual Arts and Design by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in association with the Harare Polytechnic,” said Sibanda.  

Minimum qualifications are required to join the school. Level 1 Certificate of Achievement requires ability to read and write English, a proven interest in art as a subject and a portfolio of at least 10 artworks.

Level 2 Certificate of Competence requires a successful completion of Level 1 with at least 50 percent pass rate for practical subjects and at least 50 percent pass rate for theory. Practical subjects such as design, painting, printmaking, sculpture, drawing and photography will be covered as well as theoretical content in support of the practical subjects.

Sibanda said, in the long run, the school will join other local and regional art schools and departments that include; Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe Institute of Digital Arts, Harare Polytechnic, Midlands State University and regionally the University of Cape Town, The Open University in Zambia, the University of Mozambique as well as Unisa, all offering formal training in the art discipline.

Young people who have talent and wish to pursue a career in the visual arts or talented youngsters who wish to take a gap year to explore are welcome.

The executive director said, “The school has come a long way. From the heady, experimental days of the Workshop School before independence to the new millennium’s distinctive artistic challenges, the nation has witnessed the nurturing of a creative memory unique to Zimbabwe. Through this humble school, it has been instrumental in offering art education to Zimbabweans and every year a new group of talented school leavers are enrolled.

At present, application forms for 2013 entry to the school are available at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. - Entertainment Reporter