ARTS 238 – Sculpting Sustainability in Zimbabwe

Four Credits, FDR - HA, ENV Humanities Elective 
One week on campus; three weeks in Zimbabwe
Professors Isra El-Beshir and Sandy de Lissovoy 

This study-abroad course combines studio art and cultural heritage studies to explore Zimbabwe’s environmental, political, and social landscapes through the lens of local visual artists. Centered at the Mbare Art Space (MAS) in Harare, students will collaborate with MAS founder and renowned Zimbabwean visual artist Moffat Takadiwa and other MAS resident artists to learn and experiment with techniques for repurposing materials from the global waste stream. Through this process, students will interrogate consumer culture in the Global North, better understand climate challenges facing the Global South, and reflect on colonial legacies in Zimbabwe. Through studio sessions, workshops, and discussions with local artists, students will explore innovative methods to transform the ubiquitous materials of the waste stream into unexpected and beautiful volumes, densities, and textures, and consider the socio-political and environmental narratives embedded in those materials. Students will build direct relationships with Zimbabwean artists. The course will explore environmental impacts of waste in Harare through site-visits led by an Environmental Scientist to a city waste collection facility and to Lake Chivero, the primary source of the city’s drinking water supply. Students will reflect on questions such as: How do contemporary African artists use art as tools for resistance and self-representation? How do artists reimagine waste into art and unravel questions about material culture? How are the Global North and the Global South bound up together in shaping climate issues? What historic patterns of environmental degradation link colonialism to today’s ecological emergencies?

We will visit local arts organizations and studios including the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Additionally, we will visit spectacular natural and cultural heritage sites in Zimbabwe accompanied by local guides, including the ancient ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the magnificent natural region of Victoria Falls and wilderness conservation in the Eastern Highlands of the country.

Program fee: $7,143 (paid to W&L)
Includes: **airfare**, programming, room, fees, in-country transportation, transportation to the airport from W&L, and some meals (breakfast will be included nearly every day, as well ~11 lunches and ~8 dinners). 

Students and faculty will be accommodated together in a private large house and have dedicated transportation to all educational and programming components of the course.

Additional costs: some meals, SIM cards for cell phone, spending money, inoculation fees, passport, and visa fees.

To learn more about Mbare Art Space, visit IG @mbare_art_space and artist Moffat Takadiwa @moffattakadiwa.

For further details, please contact Professor El-Beshir or Professor de Lissovoy.

The information session for this course will take place on October 6, 2025, at 7 pm in Watson Galleries Rotunda.