Mozambique: Minister visits Mankew Valente Muhumana

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Mozambique: Minister visits Mankew Valente Muhumana

9:15 CAT | 13 May 2021

Photo: Ministério da Cultura e Turismo on Facebook

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Eldevina Materula, on Friday visited the home of Mozambican fine arts icon, Mankew, to recognise and honour his essential contribution to the arts and provide support at various levels.

At the artist’s house in Maputo’s Xipamanine neighbourhood, Materula talked to Mankew about his current state of health, but the conversation extended to the times of the artist’s greatest production.

For the minister, the meeting with Mankew was “the best way we could find to pay homage to the owners of our history, our culture. So I wanted to greet him on behalf of President Filipe Nyusi and the government, and acknowledge the importance of his work. I came to know his work environment, his home, and to thank him for everything he has done and was still doing for Mozambican culture”.

Mankew expressed his satisfaction at the minister’s visit and said it was a rare and generous gesture.

The artist is currently suffering from a disease of the vision, paralysing his painting activities.

Regarding this, Minister Materula said that “our fight, as a ministry, is to value your work, and it is important for us to recover our sight”.

Minister Materula recently visited the collaborative exhibition “Times & Routes in 3D” at the National Museum of Art in Maputo, where Mankew’s work was shown alongside that of Makamo and Noel Langa.

During her visit, the Minister of Culture appealed to public, private institutions and lovers of visual arts to continue to prioritise the acquisition of works by Mozambican artists, setting an example by herself buying two Mankew works.

Mankew Valente Muhumana was born in Marracuene (Maputo), on January 1, 1934.

Self-taught, he worked extensively between 1961 and 1962 in India ink drawing, starting to paint in 1963.

He has painted murals in the Presidency of the Republic (Maputo), Moatize (Tete) and in Federal Germany.

Together with Malangatana, muralist Mankew Valente Muhumana inspired the formation of various artist cooperatives, particularly around Maputo. Among the most prominent of these is the Nucleo de Arte, which operates a gallery and offers workshops throughout the year.