Emerson Zanzibar Visual Arts Awards 2022
‘Maisha ya Zanzibar’ (‘Zanzibar Life’).
The theme this year of the Emerson Zanzibar Foundation award for visual arts is ‘Maisha ya Zanzibar’. All the local participating artists will present their interpretation of Zanzibar’s diverse life and its heritage.
Art Exhibition Opens to the Public:
– from 18 June 2022
(Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm)
The official VIP opening of the art exhibition will be on the 17 June 2022, at The Emerson Gallery. This spacious and newly created art gallery is housed within one of top boutique hotels in Stone Town, The Emerson on Hurumzi Hotel.
The exhibition and all the paintings will then be open for visitors to view, with free entry, from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-6pm until 18 September 2022.
All the art work displayed in the exhibition will be available for purchase to any art lover.
Second Emerson Zanzibar Foundation Visual Arts Award:
– 27 June 2022 at 4pm
On Friday the 27th of June 2022, the Emerson Zanzibar Foundation will hand out its second Visual Arts Award.
Participating Artists
In May 2022, Emerson Zanzibar put out a call for all artists to participate in this joint exhibition. To celebrate local art and culture, the Emerson Zanzibar Foundation launched its 2nd Visual Arts Award, with the winner announced and award presentation in the week of the exhibition. Currently around 30 artists are participating in the exhibition and prestigious award.
How this online gallery works:
- To view each artist and bio just click on the Artist’s image.
- The bio will be visible for a while, then disappears (on a mobile tap once and wait).
- To re-read their bio just move your mouse or on a mobile just touch the image again.
- Swipe right to see the next artist in alphabetical order.
- You can share each of the images to social media, if you wish.
The new Emerson Art Gallery
Celebrating Art – Art Exhibition & Artists’ Stories
The Art Exhibition, VIP Official opening is on 17 June 2022 and will then be free for visitors from 18 June 2022, Tuesday through Sunday from 10am-6pm until 18 September 2022. On our Social Media channels and on our website we will be featuring each of the Visual Arts Award participants who will display their work at the exhibition. All the artwork will also be available for purchase.
Celebrating Music with Live Performances
On several nights, throughout the ‘Maisha ya Zanzibar’ exhibition, live music will be performed in the Secret Garden at Emerson Spice, as well as in the Tea House Rooftop restaurant at Emerson on Hurumzi Hotel. Numerous talented Zanzibari musicians will perform live, styles varying from traditional Taarab music to original fusion. Watch our Social Media events for more details
Celebrating Visual Arts – ZIFF Film Festival
This year’s 25th Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) will take place from 16 to 26 June 2022 in the Old Fort in Stone Town. As always, the Emerson Zanzibar Foundation will hand out the annual Film Award during the Festival to support the creative development of an upcoming Zanzibari film maker.
Stay Tuned for more details – #MaishaYaZanzibar
Stay tuned for more information about the ‘Maisha Ya Zanzibar’ visual arts and film awards and exhibition, on our website and social media channels. We warmly invite you to join and celebrate with us, either with us in Zanzibar, or to stay connected here and follow the stories and the updates as they happen.8
Watch a video that captures the essence of the opening of Emerson Gallery and Art Exhibition 2022.
Guest of Honour, Minister of Information, culture, youth and sports. Hon. Tabia Maulid Mwita. Also Deputy Principal Secretary Ministry of Information, Culture, youth and sports Mr. Khamis Abdallah Said
Celebrating Local Artists
Artists join Emerson Zanzibar to inspire local creativity
During the worldwide Covid Pandemic, Emerson Zanzibar Hotels started holding art exhibitions in a different way to how they had been done previously. These were curated exhibitions, styled around a live interview with the artist. Everyone was welcomed in Emerson Zanzibar style – from the few, curious tourists to residents, to invited special guests – with fresh hibiscus juice, ginger tea, local snacks and sweets lovingly made by the hotel’s chef.
A group of artists approached Emerson Zanzibar with the request to organise an exhibition with both established and young, upcoming artists – to provide an opportunity for well established artists to share their experiences and for the young a chance to show their work publicly.
The idea grew from visual art, expanding to creativity in music, a special dinner planned to share local creativity in gastronomy and also combined with the regular Emerson Zanzibar Foundation’s award to celebrate Zanzibari film-makers.
Emerson Zanzibar is not just hotels and restaurants; since our doors opened, Emerson Zanzibar has been very closely connected to the creative sector. And so the Visual Arts awards began…’