Only a few days remain to catch ZimSculpt, a traveling exhibit featuring hand-sculpted works of art from hundreds of Zimbabwean artists, at Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Visitors paying general admission to the garden can see the show at no additional cost until July 30.
Since April 15, Fort Worth Botanic Garden has hosted sculptures from over 300 Zimbabwean artists depicting flowers, wildlife, and abstract shapes.
“23 years we’ve been touring with this exhibit to different botanic gardens,” explained ZimSculpt’s founder Vivienne Croisette, according to NBC 5 DFW. “We like botanic gardens because the material is natural and we believe the material really does look wonderful in this kind of botanic setting.”
Not only does the traveling art show introduce visitors to art from Southern Africa, but it builds awareness around what Croisette called an “amazing art form.”
“Zimbabwe has over 200 different minerals, so we’re blessed with our stone. That’s why I think stone sculpture has become so popular in Zimbabwe and so famous is because we have absolutely extraordinary stone,” Croisette said in a prior interview with NBC 5.
The Dallas Arboretum has hosted the ZimSculpt collection several times since 2017, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
“Personally, I’m struck by the beauty and by the craftsmanship required to bring these extraordinary sculptures to life,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said back in 2021, according to NBC 5.
Brighton Layton and Passmore Mupindiko, two artists in residence with ZimSculpt, chisel away at raw stone blocks under a tent in Fort Worth Botanic Garden. For them, showing visitors the hand-carving process from start to finish is an integral part of the show.
“[Visitors] are so excited to see these handmade sculptures,” Layton told NBC 5. “Some of them don’t even believe it is done with all hand tools.”
“It brings so much joy to me,” Layton added. “Cause that’s the way I express my feeling.”
The sculptures in ZimSculpt’s collection are also available for purchase at a range of prices suitable for different budgets.
