Sunga Mwila
Sunga Mwila practices mixed media visual art as she aspires to be be a curator. She obtained a certificate in Video Production from ZAMCOM, and a Diploma in Art Teaching at Evelyn Hone College, sponsored by Lechwe Trust. She has also done a print making residence with Studio 225 in Lusaka, a ceramic residency at Mzilikazi Art Centre in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and a curatorial Minlad at the Livingstone office for Contemporary Art in Livingstone. Sunga has worked in various companies holding various posts, attended workshops, and exhibited consistently the past 15 years in group exhibitions across the country. Her body of work is inspired by nature and symbols borrowed from the Bemba rite of passage ceremony, mbusa. Her focus is on the need to build on the deconstruction of the paradigms that create the presentation and representation of the work of art when we borrow from our indigenous methodologies. For Sunga, the creative process is an intuitive and spontaneous one, approaching each medium with an open mind, allowing emotions and the energy of the moment to guide the flow. Her work in effect disrupts the dichotomy of ‘traditional and contemporary’ and along with it some confusing implications, especially that modern or contemporary art is often ranked higher than the traditional categories, which are considered handcrafts and generally regarded as functional. Sunga’s dabbling in notions a of tradition is that it brings hope towards the prospect of an African reawakening.
Aside from practicing art, Sunga currently works as an Assistant Gallery Manager at the National Art Gallery in Livingstone (under the National Arts Council). In the past year, she has coordinated two exhibitions: The Second Annual Wildlife Exhibition sponsored by Alavan Zambia, and the Thunder Our Way exhibition sponsored by Zambian. Yet to curate her own first show, Sunga curatorial ideas are to have programing around time and history, and Identity and culture; : Identity and Culture: An exhibition that explores how artists have depicted and interpreted identity and culture, and how these concepts have evolved over time, and more.
June 2023
Aside from practicing art, Sunga currently works as an Assistant Gallery Manager at the National Art Gallery in Livingstone (under the National Arts Council). In the past year, she has coordinated two exhibitions: The Second Annual Wildlife Exhibition sponsored by Alavan Zambia, and the Thunder Our Way exhibition sponsored by Zambian. Yet to curate her own first show, Sunga curatorial ideas are to have programing around time and history, and Identity and culture; : Identity and Culture: An exhibition that explores how artists have depicted and interpreted identity and culture, and how these concepts have evolved over time, and more.
June 2023