An Ebola Headline as a Work of Art

Caught up in the Harare morning commute every morning, one of the things that sticks out all the time is the crazy newspaper headline posters prominently displayed on A-Frames near major intersections.

Now, a Zimbabwean arts student based in the USA has decided to make one of these headlines the subject of a work of art during the 2014 edition of the annual 8-hour Artist Projects which opened on Tuesday September 2^nd at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania U.S.A.

This year's invited artists were asked to consider themes of loss and change.

The show was curated by Darren Lee Miller, Assistant Professor of Art who has headed the initiative since 2008. "This annual art event features about a dozen artists making art on site with the public invited to observe (and participate if the artist so desires).

Zimbabwe's Lucia Nhamo is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. Her piece for the show was a hand-painted mural of a headline from the August 29^thpublication of The Herald, "21-Day Quarantine for Ebola Suspects".

"As we all know, newspaper headlines are ubiquitous sights at road intersections in Harare," Nhamo told Zimbo Jam. "Having just returned from a break at home, this project is probably as much about feeling a little homesick, as it is about trying to make the place that I'm from in some way relevant to where I am now."

Artists made the work on site at the Allegheny College gallery in an intense working marathon on Saturday August 30^th, from 9am to 5pm.  

"8-hours seems like a lot of time to get something done, but once you start, it goes almost too quickly!" Nhamo added.