In 2019, through a series of stakeholder meetings in Livingstone, an idea started to gain traction to enable local artists to showcase their work on a scale never seen before in our city. It is wonderful that in 2021 we can now see this remarkable attraction called the Forest of Faces.
Peter Jones, Chairman, Destination Livingstone.
The latest public art installation in Livingstone for residents and visitors alike, stands in the grounds of the Civic Centre, Livingstone City Council. There are 21 x 2-4 metre high tree sculptures each representing an aspect of the history of Livingstone. Tribes, animals, culture, and historical figures are all there, alongside messages on climate change, wildlife conservation and living together in harmony.
The sculptures were made by local artists from Mukuni Village, Nsongwe village and City based sculptors. The artists spent 3 months on their sculpture – providing drawings for the competition, making small models, finding the right tree, starting the work from their home, transporting their sculpture to the Civic Centre, completing and erecting their sculpture on site and each planting a tree at their home in recognition of environmental protection.
This booklet commemorates their work in pictures and words. It provides details of their family lives and their artistic careers and how they felt about this opportunity. At a time when Covid 19 had almost completely decimated the tourism industry in Livingstone, the funding from Prospero Zambia Limited gave these artists a lifeline and funds made available have supported many families in our area.
It is only when you walk amongst these 4 metre sculptures, twist and turn to be view from all sides and amazed by the extent of the work on each, as well as chat to the artists, that you will fully appreciate the works and learn new things about the country Zambia and the area known as Livingstone.
Rosie Mercer, Destination Livingstone Manager.
Thanks go to Joseph Sitali who played a major role in monitoring and supervising the work and keeping everything flowing at the site; Sam Johannes in producing this memento of the artists work; and the Livingstone City Council for their willingness to give up some of their city centre property to showcase these works. We also want to thank Livingstone residents, Zambian citizens from other provinces, and international travellers who have already visited the site and spread the word about this great public art installation.
You can download the PDF booklet here
