Community

Art is firmly ensconced in the syllabus of the Zambian Education Department but the dearth of teachers means that art is often not taught in far-flung rural communities.

Pam Guhrs-Carr has been intimately involved in teaching and building a community of practice where she lives in the Luangwa Valley. Her eight-module art workshop uses art to teach disadvantaged local village children aged between ten and seventeen to see wildlife clearly as part of the economic and aesthetic future of their communities, and to give them new perspectives on the entanglements between humankind and nature.

As a coordinator for stART Foundation’s community development programmes for Eastern Province, Pam dedicated many years to seeking out and cultivating creative and artistic talent in young Zambians. She developed experiential techniques to nurture talented youngsters and teach them to trust their visual ability, and to realise their visions in line, colour and three dimensional expressions using recycled material to create masks.

Together with Godbish Njovu and a growing team of studio assistants, Pam continues this work through the activities of the Mkhanya Fine Art Centre in Mfuwe where she lives.