Raphael Chikukwa
Raphael Chikukwa is the executive director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. He was appointed to the post on 9 September 2020 after serving the organisation as the deputy director.
Background
Born in Zimbabwe and worked mainly as an independent curator for over ten years before joining the National Gallery of Zimbabwe mid 2010 as its Chief Curator of Contemporary Art and also its Deputy Director. Chikukwa is the founding Curator of the Zimbabwe Pavilion curator at the 54th Venice Biennale 2011.[1]
Education
He holds an MA in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University in London and was the recipient of the 2006-07 Chevening Scholarship and the American Centre Foundation Curatorial Research Grant in 2008. In 1997 he graduated with a Post Grad Certificate in Arts and Culture Management from the University of Witwatersrand South Africa.[2]
Career
He has served the National Gallery of Zimbabwe as its Chief Curator and Deputy Director for 10 years. Chikukwa played a key role in the development of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, joining as Chief Curator of Contemporary Art in 2010. During this time, he was instrumental in overseeing the installation of over ten exhibitions as well as developing the Gallery’s international reach and re-imagining its collection. In particular, he was the founding curator of the Zimbabwe Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011 and has organized the country’s representation in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Chikukwa was also a founding staff member of the PUMA-funded Creative Africa Network from 2008 to 2009.
He was appointed the substantive executive director of the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe with effect from 9 September 2020 taking over from Doreen Sibanda. Chikukwa has played a vital role in strengthening the country’s art scene through times of scarce funding and lingering negative perceptions from parts of the international arena.
In December 2018, Chikukwa was elected to the board of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association as the secretary.
Publications
Publications he has contributed to include Visions of Zimbabwe (2004); Mawonero/Umbono: Insights on Art in Zimbabwe (2016); and Kabbo Ka Muwala: Migration and Mobility in Contemporary Art (2017).
