Cynthia Zukas

Cynthia Zukas is a Zambian painter; she received the Order of the British Empire in 2012.

Zukas was born in 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. She went to school in South Africa, where she started her art career, and later went to London where she studied as an art teacher. In London she met Simon Zukas who she later married.[1]

Cynthia Zukas at the Swedish Embassy breakfast with Zambian Wikipedians

Career

After a few years, Simon and Cynthia moved to Zambia and Cynthia became a full-time housewife. The two have two children. During her free time, she used to draw, which she still does today. A few years after coming to Zambia, she was introduced to the Lusaka Art Society. This is where she met different artists and became the secretary of the society. It was later that she cofounded the Lechwe Trust, an organization aimed at developing visual arts in Zambia.[2] She also played a big role in the Zambia National Visual Arts Council (VAC).[3]

Some of the artists that she notes who have contributed to the Zambia's art are Henry Tayali and Valentine Musakanya.[4] It is through her artwork that Cynthia earned herself international recognition even among westerners[5]

Awards
Year Award Category Result
2000 National Arts Council[6] Ngoma award for outstanding contribution in the development of the visual arts Won
2011 Julia Chikamoneka Freedom Award[7] Press Freedom Committee of The Post Newspaper (PFC) Honored
2012 Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain an Order of the British Empire[8][9] (MBE) For promoting visual arts in Zambia[10] and for creating a historical archive of Zambian art Received

References
  1. Cynthia Zukas - Chalo Chatu, Zambia online encyclopedia
  2. Hugh Macmillan; Hugh Macmillan (Ph. D.); Frank Shapiro (1999). Zion in Africa: the Jews of Zambia. I.B. Tauris Publishers in association with The Council for Zambia Jewry. p. 280. ISBN 9781860644054.
  3. Diary Notebook. ZWICCT. 1993.
  4. The Arts of Africa: An Annotated Bibliography. African Studies Association. 1992. ISBN 9789992828472.
  5. Taylor, Scott D. (2006). Culture and Customs of Zambia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 60. ISBN 9780313332463. Cynthia Zukas.
  6. National Arts Councilhttp://www.times.co.zm/?p=81313
  7. Julia Chikamoneka Freedom Awardhttp://www.cynthiazukas.com
  8. http://chalochatu.org/Cynthia_Zukas
  9. https://zambiareports.com/2012/06/15/queen-elizabeth-bestows-the-order-of-british-empire-on-zukas/
  10. http://andrewmulenga.blogspot.com/2012/06/queen-honours-cynthia-zukas.html
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