Vimbai Zimuto's latest show might draw crowds - if anyone knew when it was

14 April 2019 - 00:00 By KENNETH MATIMAIRE

Zimbabwean musician Vimbai Zimuto, who has caused a stir with naked photographs of herself, is set to turn up the heat with a private exhibition in Harare.
The time and date is a closely guarded secret for all but the 200 people who will be allowed entry.
Under section 33 of the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act, displaying pictures deemed to be indecent, obscene, immoral or sexual is a criminal offence.
But Zimuto is unfazed.
"The exclusive event will see the commissioning of a story through images. This is not a nudes expo but an art exhibition which will be professionally curated," she said.
Zimuto has set tongues wagging in the entertainment industry with the naked photographs, raunchy lyrics and sexy dance moves that have become her trademark.
A year ago, Zimuto released a music video Hapana Kwaunoenda, loosely translated as "you are not leaving", in which she engaged naked in sexually suggestive dance moves.
Several nude photographs of the singer, who is now based in the Netherlands, went viral on social media and caused a stir.
"They are not just nude pictures," she said.
"They are art. They tell stories and these stories need you to be open-minded to totally understand."
She said her art had been forged by the way she had had to build a life from nothing.
"This is driven from my life. The way I grew up. How I accomplished all that I have out of nothing. How I grew up an orphan and turned out all right," she said.
Her parents died when she was 10 and she was raised by her grandmother.
Backing vocalist for 'Tuku'
She was exposed at an early age to traditional dance and mbira music, and that paved the way to her becoming a backing vocalist for the late Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi and his group Black Spirits.
In 2010, she toured the Netherlands before settling in the city of Eindhoven.
"It is a city full of artists and art exhibitions. So it's actually an advantage for me," she said.
Zimuto said she had never fitted in with the conservative nature of Zimbabwe society.
"They bashed me in the beginning. Talked about my immorality, which is something people do before they totally understand what it is, or where I am coming from.
"But as the days went by more and more people started coming around. Seeing my art as it is - art," she said.
Zimuto works with an all-male team, including the photographers.
"It's not a big deal because they are all professionals. I don't have issues and they don't seem to have issues either," she said.
"I'm happy with the dialogue that these artistic images have brought to light. People are happy, angry, frustrated and excited. It's amazing how that has inspired me to do this exhibition," she said.
The director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, Nicholas Moyo, said he could not comment on Zimuto's upcoming exhibition because he was in meetings...

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