Not so long ago did we joke and caution ourselves when in Harare to mind the tomatoes on the street pavements. Back then there was only a handful of vendors on the streets of Harare. Astonishing it is how over the years things have changed from simply minding the tomatoes to minding everything that ranges from merchandise to people on the very same pavements.
What is ComExposed
EM: ComExposed is an organisation we founded together to promote comic books and help out the comic book artists, and bring them together to the rest of the world, the general public and the corporate world. To just introduce Zimbabwe to the culture of comic books and how everyone can benefit and enjoy it
You say industrial Design is unknown in Zimbabwe. Can you explain what it involves?
Well, at its most basic, Industrial Design involves the design of products that serve a particular function from concepts, manufacturing through to usage and disposal. What they call product lifecycle. It can be any product, your cellphone for example. At some point it was conceived and designed by someone. Industrial design was closely linked to mass produced consumer products but now it’s much broader.
I was walking through the Avenues one sunny morning, taking in the sights and sounds as I went along – the nurses dutifully making their way to work, the vendor selling her wares at the corner, a woman with a wailing baby on her back waiting for transport to Mazowe/Concession/Glendale/Bindura/Mt Darwin…the touts yelling all of the above whilst dangling from kombi doors.
Every time I go through the Forbes list of cleanest cities in the world, I come across a common trait. They are mostly aesthetically pleasing. I searched the list in the solitary fear that my city could just be there. Disappointment! Then, I Googled ‘Dirtiest Cities in the World’. Phew! Imagine my relief at learning that Harare was not featured here either. Nevertheless, my euphoria was soon extinguished. Least of all because deep down I knew that my excitement did not emanate from pride.
(We picked up this rant from mUnetsi on twitter in regards to the supposed Beef going on in the Zimbabwe Hip Hop industry)
In my experiences sometimes beef is fanned by folk who have nothing to do with the music, cats around the artists. Sometimes people target people because it's easier to fight someone than a system. Sit down and let me school you. This is real talk, unbiased. Don't catch feelings youngins.
Every time an artist makes something, he wants that piece to communicate and the question is who this person that the artist wants to communicate with.
With our economy; there is a middle class that has emerged. If you go around Zimbabwe, Harare is expanding, there are amazing buildings that are being erected. People are building mansions and you wonder; where is the economy going. People are making money. And you may ask what are they hanging in the walls of their homes.
A FEW years ago, a friend challenged me to keep my head up when walking down the streets of Harare. He even gave me a tip to read street and shop signs as a way to train myself to walk with my head held high. I remember nodding my head rather flippantly. In retrospect, I never quite took up the challenge. But, I somehow never forgot it.
Took some time out to take random pics in and around the HIFA precinct.
Closing act each year sees fireworks launched and brighten up the Harare cityscape.
