By ROY KAUSA –

IF it were in boxing or indeed other professional sporting careers, the name Cynthia Zukas would have been a household name, not only in Zambia and the region but also overseas! At the age of 85, Cynthia still stuns Lusaka residents when they see her behind the wheel in her grey Chevrolet in Woodlands and Kabulonga shopping malls. Cynthia, or Ms Zukas as she is fondly called in the arts circles in Zambia, recently celebrated her 85th birthday which was attended by many people from different walks of life in Lusaka. Up to this day, Ms Zukas still manages to paint, drive and above all read about different subjects including science fiction. Ms Zukas and her husband, the prominent Zambia civil engineer and retired politician Simon Zukas, enjoy walking once in a while. In June 2012, Cynthia was awarded with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her exceptional role in promoting art in Zambia. Like old wine, Cynthia’s technique over the years has matured so much that although her artworks stand out, her style and touch still mesmerise many art experts overseas who see her paintings. She loves to use green, earthly browns, yellows which she blends in her images. It is not a joke but a fact that many artists would confess that green colour is not an easy colour, and this is what makes Cynthia’s work classic. Cynthia’s paintings mostly depict what many may see as day-to-day Zambian life style. However, her compositions may look simple but like everything in life, the simpler the idea, the more difficult to actually do. It is a fact that most popular hit songs of the yesteryear are composed of very easy and simple words. For instance, the song, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson; the lyrics are so simple and yet the whole composition of that song is what makes it a classic. At 85, Cynthia enters the arts ring at the Zebra Crossings gallery and restaurant to showcase her artworks which she has produced spanning over 50 years. This art exhibition by this master artist, like in a world boxing title bout, is meant to excite the lovers. On the local scene, this artist has been awarded by the Post Newspaper, the Julia Chikamonenka Award and the Chairman’s Award by the National Arts Council (NAC) for her outstanding works. The forthcoming art exhibition by Cynthia next month is a good example and a great testimony of how trained professional artists like her, take time to prepare for an exhibition. It is a tedious work, a long process before these professionals show their work to the public. For example, in the last 50 years, Cynthia has only had five solo art exhibitions, which means that in every 10 years, she put some artworks aside in preparation for a solo. This year’s Retrospective Exhibition has been dubbed ‘Cynthia Zukas 50 Creative Years’. It is really an explosive art exhibition designed by Natasha Evans, the young Lusaka based artist in her own right who is busy working out how the entire exhibition shall look like two months before it happens. This author had the privilege to see some of the floor plan by Natasha Evans from Studio 78 where it works. Natasha has plans to bring yet another dimension to the way artists should prepare for an art exhibition. Well done Natasha! Another plus for Cynthia is that amongst the artworks on display during her art exposition are pieces that include beautiful studies and still life, in her work like a medical surgeon. She knows exactly how to blend colours and finally creates fantastic visual harmony. Since Cynthia and her husband Simon arrived in the newly independent country (Zambia) in 1965, Cynthia has been inspired by the bright colours, the subtropical plants and the people with their different of lifestyles which she depicts in her work. However, despite her busy schedule as an arts administrator and a committee member of many arts organisations, the 85-year-old master artist still finds time to paint or draw in her studio in Chilanga near Linda compound, especially over the weekends. “I made up my mind to make a contribution to the development of the then new country when we arrived in Zambia in 1965. It was my new home and I felt the best way was through knowledge of art. “At that time there were no art colleges or galleries in Lusaka and nothing really to talk about in art. Fortunately just after we arrived I was introduced to the Lusaka Art Society where I attended a meeting and was made secretary,” Cynthia recalls. In 1986, Cynthia, Henry Tayali and Bente Lorenz founded the Lechwe Trust, a non-profit making organisation to foster the development of the visual arts in Zambia. Since its formation, Lechwe Trust has sponsored some of the most outstanding art students to further their art education in Zambia and overseas. The Lechwe Trust at the moment has probably the most comprehensive art collection in the country comprising of prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics by Zambia’s prominent artists. The Lechwe Trust Art Collection now comprises about 350 artworks kept under lock and key in two metal containers due to lack of a gallery to house it. Fortunately for the Lechwe Trust, it recently acquired a piece of land along Lagos Road in Lusaka, big enough to build a gallery, storerooms, and sculpture gardens. The Lechwe Trust, of which Cynthia is the chairman, is looking for funds to build the new gallery. She is appealing to well wishers to fund the project. One may ask, who is Cynthia Zukas? Cynthia Sarah Zukas was born in Cape Town on the February 19, 1931, where she went to school and got involved in politics at an early age while studying at the Michealis School of Art at Cape Town University. “Going to a mixed race university with a small number of black students was a real eye opener for me! I was rudely awakened to the terrible inequality and brutality of the apartheid and racism in South Africa at that time and was quickly swept into the exciting world of student politics. “This was detrimental to my art studies and I had to repeat a year before I got my degree,” recalls Cynthia. In 1951, the young artist got in trouble with police when she campaigned for the National Congress of South Africa during the Defiance Campaign. Her family was very worried about Cynthia getting into further trouble and sent her to England to do a one year art teacher’s course. Cynthia’s one year stint in England gave her new opportunity to travel and study overseas. She was excited to see the great artworks by some of the British masters about whom she had only read in books. Soon after her arrival in London in February 1953, Cynthia met Simon. “Simon and I had a lot in common and we worked together on various committees such as the movement for Colonial Freedom and anti-apartheid movements. We fell in love and got married in January 1954. I settled down to become a full time housewife and mother. Our two children were born in 1955 and 1957 respectively,” she said. The 85-year-old master artist also remembers when the then United National Independence party (UNIP) set up an office in London and her husband Simon became a member. It was during this period that Cynthia got to meet with many Northern Rhodesians (now Zambians) visiting London and by the time Cynthia and Simon moved to Zambia, she had already met Kenneth Kaunda and his wife Betty, Simon Kapwepwe, Mainza Chona, Vernon Mwaanga and other politicians. In 1965, Cynthia and her husband arrived in Zambia after living in London for 11 years. The young artist was thrilled to be back in Africa. In her 50 years’ ‘tour of duty’ as an artist, arts administrator Cynthia has exhibited her master pieces in many countries. The Cynthia Zukas 50 Creative Years is not just an art exhibition, but a rare one. The artworks on display have been designed by a professional graphic designer, Natasha Evans, who totally recreates the spaces at the Zebra Crossing Restaurant and gallery into a new dimension. Natasha’s room design makes it easy for the art viewers to walk through the gallery starting from works created in 1971 right through to Cynthia’s new ones. As if that was not enough, Natasha has also displayed all the posters and some of her sketches and sketch book. On one hand, Cynthia’s 50 years of her art journey really depicts Zambia’s last 50 years in its totality. On the other hand Natasha has designed this exhibition so professionally that the viewers of this show shall enjoy themselves by looking at a chronological arrangement of artworks, prints, etchings, posters, Press reviews going back from Cynthia’s first solo show up to the one she celebrated Zambia’s 40th independence anniversary at Inter-Continental in Lusaka. Finally, college and university students including those in primary and secondary school to make a date! It is a must see art exhibition. Well done Cynthia. You no doubt are a master of the art world. This exhibition opens to the public on 5th April, 2016, at the Zebra Crossings. It runs for another three weeks. It is a must see art exhibition!