When the Brazilian culture was the focal point at Zimbabwe’s National Gallery in Harare last weekend, it marked more than an art exchange.
The arrival of the Bienal de São Paulo, one of the world’s oldest and most respected art festivals, is a deliberate act of diplomacy—an invitation for Zimbabwe to step into Brazil’s cultural orbit.
The event spearheaded by Ambassador Vilmar Rogeiro Coutinho Junior and National Gallery Director Raphael Chikukwa, brought together Zimbabwean creativity and Brazilian curatorial heft. It was a vivid demonstration that in today’s multipolar world, diplomacy is not confined to trade tables and political summits—it can also unfold on the walls of an art gallery.
A cultural doorway
Brazil’s choice to lead with culture is no accident. The Bienal, founded in 1951, has long been a stage for South American identity and imagination. By partnering with Zimbabwe, Brasília is signalling that it sees Harare as more than just another African capital—it is a creative equal, a place where South–South dialogue can flourish in brushstrokes, installations, and ideas.
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This cultural diplomacy also echoes Brazil’s wider agenda in Africa. Agriculture, biofuels, and education remain obvious areas of cooperation, but cultural soft power builds the human connections that make deals sustainable. Teaching Portuguese in Harare and showcasing Brazilian art deepens the sense of kinship before the economic conversations even begin.
South–South symmetry
Both Zimbabwe and Brazil position themselves as voices of the Global South, active in groupings like BRICS+ and the G77. Crucially, Brazil arrives not with lectures or conditionalities, but with canvases, colour, and collaboration.
For Zimbabwe, this partnership offers more than prestige. Brazil is a powerhouse in tropical agriculture, renewable energy, and cultural industries. If cultural diplomacy is the door, it may well open into joint projects in sugarcane ethanol, farm technology, scholarships, and creative industries.
For Brazil, Zimbabwe provides an African foothold at a time when the country is reclaiming global influence under President Lula da Silva’s third term.
Those who walked into the National Gallery last Saturday, they weren’t just experiencing art—they witnessed diplomacy at its most imaginative.
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