Project Aids Zimbabwe Women

Franktown United Methodist Church will host this extraordinary exhibit of the Zimbabwe Artists Project throughout the month of May.

Professor Richard Adams, ZAP’s founder, will speak during both the 8:30 and 11:15 a.m. services on May 1. Also, Sunday school classes are welcome to an informal gathering and discussion in the Fellowship Hall at 10 a.m.
On Monday, May 2, Adams will spend time with the elementary Montessori students, sharing stories of the artists of Weya, their customs, wildlife native to the area, etc. For more information, contact Jo Ann Molera at 757-442-4848.
Women of Weya are subsistence farmers, mothers, and householders as well as artists. Most women live on their own, providing for families. Some are widowed, others are single heads of households, since throughout Zimbabwe men leave the rural areas to seek work in cities. Sales of their art helps women afford food, clothing, school fees, medicines, transport, seeds and fertilizer, among other things.

ZAP’s goal also is to communicate with Americans about Zimbabwe’s history and culture, as well as about the artists’ lives. In the United States, ZAP helps communities to see common humanity across boundaries of culture and privilege.Zimbabwe Artists Project strives for a genuine partnership with the women of Weya. The goal is to foster self-respect and self-reliance through collaborative projects.
Zimbabwe Artists Project has its roots in Lewis and Clark College Overseas Programs. Adams, a sociology professor, led students to Zimbabwe in 1994, 1997 and 1999, on programs focused on gender and social change. In 1997, artists from Weya, who were host mothers/sisters for the students, asked him to find a market for their art in the U.S. He founded Zimbabwe Artists Project in 1999 as a nonprofit.