The Art Nucleus

The Art Nucleus is a long-standing centre of Art and also an association house for artists gathering here in Mozambique. It was established in its current location in the Polana district within the Maputo City. The centre has always been connected and an expression of Mozambican politic history. 

The name Art Nucleus appeared for the first time in Mozambique in 1937 as a title to an exhibition depicting “Lourenço Marques”. Due to the lack of freedom of political expression that existed within the Portuguese colonial regime the centre was mainly used for exhibitions of the works from Portuguese artists. However, due to the persistent complaints and objections of some Portuguese artists (although often manipulatively through the colonial political regime) they slowly opened the Nucleus to the growing numbers of Mozambican artists. 

One of the most noteworthy of these artists is Malangatana
Valente Ngwenya who, expressing his feelings of nationalism obtained huge acclaim with first individual exhibition in 1961. The political freedoms where shortlived from 1964 onwards many Mozambican artists and their works were rounded up with their works destroyed by the Portuguese Secret Police (PIDE) with the members of the Nucleus arrested and accused of being FRELIMO party sympathisers. After independence in 1975 the name of Nucleus was briefly changed to “Centro Organizativo dos Artistas Plásticos (COAP)”, meaning Organizative Centre of Plastic Artistic, a shortlived experience and very soon after the name of Art Nucleus Association was reinstated. 

Led by artists such as Bertina Lopes, Malangatana and Alberto Chissano the members of the Nucleus dedicated the development of the centre to Mozambican modern art. As the funds from government and foreign agencies dried up there then followed a very static and dry development period through the civil war years. 

With the cease fire of the Civil War in 1992 and the subsequent launch of a major project for peace consolidation “ Transformação de Armas em Instrumentos de Trabalho” meaning Transforming Weapons into Working Tools(supported by the Justice Department, Peace and Reconciliation of Mozambique Council of Churches) there was a new phase for the life of the Artistic Nucleus. 

Many young Youth artists took up the initiative; in 1993 after reopening of the building young artists created works of Art using AK47s, mines and a variety of weapons. Now the Nucleus is a flourishing centre for art and holds various workshops and exhibitions exposing Mozambican arts across the world. 

.