Arduinna

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chapungu-sculpture-park

The rolling plains of Colorado may not be where you’d expect to see a vast collection of Zimbabwean art, although at Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra, located in Loveland, you’ll find just that. The park, about 50 miles north of Denver and just south of Fort Collins, covers 26 acres and features 82 stone sculptures that depict different elements of the African country’s familial traditions. 

The park’s name translates to “Great Spirit Bird,” a reference to the Bateleur eagle, significant in Zimbabwean culture, as the raptor is thought to be a protector and a bringer of important messages. Each of the sculptures is part of the Shona sculpture movement, which gained global popularity in the 1960s—though it had been practiced in the country for centuries. The art is characterized by a semi-abstract style, human faces, and familial themes. The late English artist Frank McEwen, founding director of what’s now the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, propelled the Shona movement in the ’60s and ’70s, and many of Chapungu’s pieces are from this era.  

Once you enter Chapungu, take one of the 11 concrete and gravel walking paths to weave your way through the artwork and surrounding gardens. The artworks are all handcarved from dense, uniform stone such as Serpentine, with some weighing as much as 4 tons. The sculptures fall into eight themes, including the Role of Women, the Spirit World, the Children, and the Elders.

In addition to the sculptures, you’ll be surrounded by 2,900 types of native shrubs and trees, as well as 7,000 types of ornamental grasses. Wildlife abounds—you may see deer, geese, foxes and frogs on a visit to Chapungu. 

So how did these sculptures end up in Loveland, Colorado? Loveland is known in the arts world for the largest juried sculpture show in America, and also respected globally for its brass sculpture foundries. So it’s not surprising that when the late South African art collector Roy Guthrie, who founded a Chapungu sculpture park in Harare, Zimbabwe, sought to support its stone sculptors and bring the Shona movement to a wider audience, he connected with the local Loveland arts council. After a developer donated land for the park, it opened to the public in 2007.

The park has joined the rest of Loveland’s rich artistic reputation as a home to galleries and no shortage of public art installations. 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chapungu-sculpture-park

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-doors-of-stone-town

Located off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar has long been a center of trade. It was during its heyday of the spice trade when the island and its capital city, Stone Town, experienced its golden age.

Throughout its history, Zanzibar has been influenced by the many civilizations that lived and traded there, the indigenous Swahili populations, Omani, Indian, Persian, Portuguese and others. Each group left a mark through its art, music, food and architecture. But it is through its doors that we can know and appreciate the town’s cultural history.      

Zanzibar's iconic carved wooden doors tell the story of the main groups that gave the island its identity; Swahili, Arab and Indian (Gujarati). Where else in the world can you look at a door and tell who lives there, their religion, what they do for a living and how wealthy they are?

Swahili Doors: The earliest type of door was created by the original Swahili inhabitants. Characterized by rectangular, geometric designs and linear carvings.  They are often rounded at the top. The designs are more generally tied to nature representing waves and local traditions. They may look simpler than the other door types, but they convey their African roots, and a representation of what life was like before the many other cultural influences arrived.  

Arab/Omani Doors: Arab traders brought their own designs with them from the Persian Gulf. These frequently included quotes from the Quran. These doors tend to be larger and more impressive. They feature flowing designs found in Islamic artistic traditions. Many of these doors were found on the homes of wealthy Arab merchants, dignitaries and other authority figures so they represented prestige and social standing.

Indian/Gujarati Doors: Indian merchants and traders also brought their artistic designs with them to Stone Town. These doors tend to be thick with heavy brass studs. The studs were historically designed to protect against war elephants in India. Today the studs are exclusively decorative but during the time of the profitable spice trade, they displayed the wealth of the inhabitants.

Today many of the doors are in need of repair but you can still see how beautiful they once were in their heyday. The doors are unique to Stone Town. So much so that the town itself has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.  

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-doors-of-stone-town