Paintings and sculptures that were acquired by several UTM students and Dr. Dawood Sultan while on a trip to Tanzania will be displayed as the newest exhibit in the University Museum.

Beginning on the tentative date of October 9, the museum will be presenting art that is labeled TingaTinga for any interested student as well as the general public. This art movement is a style that was developed in the ‘60s by a man named Eduardo TingaTinga. Many of the followers of TingaTinga art have been grouped together by their expressiveness, vibrant colors and ability to paint aspects of everyday life in Tanzania. The supplies used by these artists are affordable and readily accessible with bike paint being at the top of the list.

Richard Saunders, the curator of the museum, described the movement of TingaTinga art as being worthy of the title of “legitimate art” in that much of the paintings may appear to be simplistic but are relative to the everyday experiences of the painters themselves. It became considered an actual modern art form by most art critics and indicative of the character of the Tanzanian people with its use of everyday objects in a tourist-appealing approach.

Some of the pieces to be included in the exhibit are Shintani pieces. These pieces are “almost always sculpted in Ebony with fantastic, figural things that are very tribal,” said Saunders.

Shintani is often the most recognizable form of TingaTinga art in that it is most appealing to “airport art” collectors, according to Berit Sahlström’s biography on this artistic innovator and his followers. He believes this type of tourist market may have discredited some people from taking this art form seriously.

The collection of the various artworks as well as coordinating the exhibit itself took roughly three months to ensure that it would physically be here in time to catalog and itemize everything, said Saunders.

He also says that students should visit this exhibit, which will be available until the end of the term, because the art is “not something that would normally be seen and they [students] need some breadth to them.”

This exhibit is free and open to the public during the regular museum hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more about this exhibit is encouraged to call the museum at 881-7094.