After a sterling first show in Zimbabwe, the PPC Imaginarium is now gearing up for its 2018 edition. The competition is focused on inspiring inspiration in the Concrete Medium, which until the inception of the 2017 edition, had not been a popular genre within Zimbabwe. For the nominal edition, there was a great response from Zimbabwean artists and creative practitioners, with Victor Nyakauru winning the Sculpture Prize with his work Bread and Butter Issues; Sandra Matamisa clinching the Fashion Award with New Dispensation, Neville Starling and Ska Sebata clinching honorable mention awards with Whose Memory, Whose Place and Untitled respectively. The 2018 round which opened in July is has recently shut down it registration phase on the 30th of November 2018.
The Imaginarium Awards is a competition where PPC rewards concepts that are grounded in innovation, hence there must be an understanding of the medium in order to execute works that meet the international benchmark which the competition has set. As the competition enters its fifth cycle in South Africa and its second wave here in Zimbabwe, it is crucial for prospective participants to know the process which the competition entails. First off, there are a series of workshops to be held after registration has been completed online at the PPC Imaginarium application portal.
The first of these Workshops is slated to take place over the course of ten days in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare from the 15th to the 25th of January 2019. These intensive Workshops are focused on exploring the technical elements of working with concrete and, as such, skills such as the creation of molds and applying different techniques to the five disciplines encapsulated in the competition, are transferred to the Workshop’s participants. It is important to point out that the debut PPC Imaginarium Awards were responded to in a most positive light, however, the bulk of the works to feature in the competition were Sculpture and Fashion submission.
What was found in minute, or zero volumes, was Short Film, Jewelery Design, Industrial Design and Architectural Design. Going forward, with the success of Zimbabwe’s first PPC Imaginarium Awards, the project is bound to attract insightful and bold interpretations in its second iteration! Shifting back to the PPC Imaginarium Award’s process, the second stage is primarily based on the submission of physical works to the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare. The tentative date for the submission of completed artworks has been pegged at the 10th of May 2019, of note, a period of more than three months will have been allotted the artist or creative practitioner to execute their works to the best of their ability.
The third part of the process will ensue as the Adjudication Committee for the exhibition converges to select finalists from submitted works and deliberate upon the Winners of each category. The adjudication process will constitute Design Practitioners and Arts Professionals from the region, who can best determine works that exude individuality and genius; particularly focused on the adept technicality in of the concrete medium.
This part of the process will take place on the 17th of May 2019. After all the skeletal processes of the PPC Imaginarium are completed, there shall be a Gala Event, incorporating the Awards Ceremony, to take place on the 30th of May at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Based on the previous encounters between the PPC Corporation under the auspices of the PPC Imaginarium Awards with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe; the relationship of business and art cumulated in a nomination for the two organizations at the recently held Business and Arts South Africa Awards, where the two were nominated for the Beyond Borders Partnership Award. Despite coming up short to that accolade, the PPC Imaginarium Awards’ maiden exposition sent waves through the art world and shone its beacon lustrously. As the competition rolls forth, there is a positive response from artists, institutions that the PPC Imaginarium Awards have the capacity to spark creativity in the region and will continue to build creativity from strength in ideas and innovation.
