Lutanda Mwamba’s story, Mpapa Gallery and the Lechwe Trust Exhibition

Ruth HartleyArt Process, Creativity, Education, Mpapa Gallery, Printmaking, Southern Africa, Visual Arts, Zambia9 Comments

Teaching O level art at the ISL I was teaching O level art at the International School of Lusaka in 1982 when I first noticed a student called Lutanda Mwamba. He had a gift for drawing. I praised his work but he said he wanted to be an engineer. I didn’t argue. Life was hard then in Zambia particularly for […]

The Story of a Storyteller in Zambia

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Book Launch, Book Publishing, Books by Ruth Hartley, Creativity, Graphic Novel, Identity, Imagination, Promotion, Reading, Southern Africa, The Love and Wisdom Crimes, The Shaping of Water, The Spiral-Bound Notebooks, The Tin Heart Gold Mine, The White and Black Blues, Writing Process, Zambia2 Comments

Zambia is the home of my heart. A country I love and that I returned to for a while this year. I was honoured that Dr. Fay Gadsden of Gadsden Publishers, Lusaka generously arranged a book launch for me at the Alliance Francaise – France is my other home so that felt appropriate. Daniel Sikazwe, journalist, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation […]

The River’s Story

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Colonialism, Illustration, Imagination, Power, Southern Africa, The Love and Wisdom Crimes, The Shaping of Water, Truth, Visual Arts, Zambia4 Comments

We all own the River. That’s what we believe. The world of nature is ours and we can do what we like with it. The River belongs to us. We can use it – we can waste it – we can worship it. Not one of these ways of looking at the River tells us what it means to be […]

Writers get support & help from Charroux

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Book Publishing, Books by Ruth Hartley, Creativity, Festival, Memoir, Poetry, Promotion, When I Was Bad, Writing Process1 Comment

Charroux Poetry & Memoir Prize Event I had such a good weekend at the Charroux Memoir and Poetry Prize event. I met writers, poets, readers and lovers of books as well as the excellent team that organised the event. So thanks to Kate Rose, Jocelyn, and Gordon Simms and the awesome Freshly Press threesome, Maria Barry, Tracy Stewart, and Emma […]

The colonisation of the spirit

Ruth HartleyColonialism, Creativity, Religion, Southern Africa, Visual Arts, ZambiaLeave a Comment

Forceful ideas There are occasions when something is said or written that strikes you with real force. A discussion between Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy over African artefacts in European museums did just that for me. It’s a topical subject right now. Emmanuel Macron is talking of the repatriation of African artworks to their homes in Africa. Way back in […]