By Estella Lauter

The October UU Gallery exhibit comes all the way from Africa via the Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP), a non-profit organization that grew out of student trips sponsored by Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. ZAP supports Weya women artists by buying art directly from them and selling it to people in the US.

Weya women’s income from agriculture is unpredictable and limited. Sales of their art help women afford food, clothing, school fees, medicines, transport, seeds and fertilizer. Since the market for Weya art in Zimbabwe is extremely limited, sales in the US are critical. ZAP’s complementary goal is to communicate with Americans about Zimbabwe’s history and culture, as well as about the artists’ lives through videos and photographs of the artists and the stories that accompany each piece of art.

Works of art in this exhibit will include appliques, board paintings, embroideries and fabric “sadza” art. You are invited to a gathering to celebrate the work of these artists on Saturday, October 10 from 4:00 – 6:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. Please join us for the party and plan to come see the exhibit multiple times to benefit from this excellent opportunity to absorb and appreciate the vitality of this work and its creators.

Many thanks to all the UUFDC volunteers who made this exhibit possible.