Germany hosts Tanzanian art exhibition

GERMANY: A MAJOR exhibition showcasing contemporary Tanzanian art has started in Münster, Germany, as part of the city’s annual Africa Festival.

The exhibition, titled ‘World Art from Tanzania: More Than Tingatinga!’, is the 10th edition of a touring showcase that has travelled across Germany since 2024.

It features around 50 works by nearly 30 Tanzanian artists and aims to present the diversity of modern Tanzanian painting beyond the well-known Tingatinga style.

The exhibition was officially opened in the presence of Tanzania’s Honorary Consul in Hamburg, Petra Hammelmann, during the 26th edition of the Africa Festival in Münster, a university city with a population of about 300,000.

Among the featured artists are Haji Chilonga, Lute Mwakisopile and Happy Robert, who contributed to Tanzania’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.

The exhibition also includes works by prominent Tanzanian painters such as Raza Mohamed, often referred to as Tanzania’s ‘Picasso’, and Muzu Sulemanji, described by organisers as the country’s ‘Rembrandt’.

Curators Fritz Gleiss and David Kyungu say the project seeks to challenge longstanding colonial perceptions of Tanzanian art in Germany, particularly the idea that it is ‘naïve’ or limited to a single artistic style.

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They described the exhibition as potentially the largest representative showcase of modern Tanzanian painting ever staged in Germany.

The touring exhibition has previously been displayed at venues including the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Bonn and Wuerzburg City Hall, attracting more than 5,000 visitors to date.