Prince Moyo launches month-long art expo in Maun
Art lovers in the tourist town of Maun received a royal treat over the weekend when one of their own launched a special exhibition at the popular Duck Café.
Hosting what was just the second solo expo of his career, Prince Moyo, a visual artist and proud Maun native, showcased his diverse talents before both residents and holiday-making tourists.
His works will be on display at the Duck, a self-made art market located opposite the Airport which provides local creatives with a platform and opportunity to market themselves to international audiences, for the full month.
For Prince Moyo, anything is a potential canvas: from paper to clothes to the more unusual, animal bones!
“Due to limited space, I only managed to bring 20 paintings, a few hoodies, t-shirts and cow skulls,” revealed the young creative, whose art can normally be found on show at Nhabe Museum.
“My audience mostly are tourists hence most of the paintings are not huge,” added Moyo, who organised the event under the theme, ‘It must have been the Art in us’.
“Everyone is an artist in his own light. There is a phenomenon that has led us to becoming the creatives that we are today. During play time as kids we would act out different characters from games like Mmantwane, molding things with mud, making wire cars and amidst it all we derive themes such as hope, dreams, vulnerability as well as innocence,” said the well-spoken artist, who is just as capable with his words as he is with the paintbrush.
Through the month-long exhibition, Moyo intends to create an art vibe in Maun which tells the story of Ngamiland from the creative community’s perspective.
“I will be sharing a series of visual stories in large scale painting and natural objects. I always look at spaces to see what differences I can bring to that space. Along the way I have met challenges, specifically the mindset of the people.”
However, like the title of his first exhibition, ‘Stubborn with my dream’, held at Serenity Riverfront Gardens three years ago, Moyo’s passion runs deep and will not be diminished by a few critics.
For his part, Tlotlo Saleshando of Safari Destinations, who have worked with Moyo since 2018 by introducing him to their international clients, explained their partnership was intended to come up with something beyond wildlife tourism.
“We all know that wildlife is the heart of tourism but we wanted to promote creativity that we could sell alongside our wildlife. Maun has always been a boiling pot in terms of cultural diversity,” said Saleshando.