Turning Art into business- A story of "Khomzy Art"

 Khomzy Art- "Art is my inborn talent"             A portrait showing a woman carrying a baby on 

                                                                                her back whilst playing a musical instrument.

  By: Lauryn M'banga                                               

As a young boy growing up in Chirimba Township, Blantyre, Khomzy Art would always have kin interest when it comes to Art. He believes that art is something that is hardwired in him as he started drawing portraits on his own. His curiosity with art helped him to make acquaintanceship with most artists selling or exhibiting pencil portraits.

Born Kondwani Sukani, “Khomzy Art” is a Pencil and Paint Artist, studying in his final year at the University of Malawi (UNIMA), pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Statistic. Khomzy Art spends his holiday’s painting and drawing portraits for his customers.

Knowing that challenges and hiccups can never be skipped in a person’s journey, Khomzy Art has faced a lot of them as a young person venturing into the artistic industry. “My skills were not fully established in the beginning since I had just began, it was not easy to meet my clients expectations. Some would not get their portraits just because they were not satisfied with the work done. I remember one time I had to redo a painting so as to meet my clients satisfaction,” he said.

Not only has other peoples work of art guided him along the way, he has also been encouraged as he has seen that most of them started from the bottom, this has also boosted his morale in working hard to perfect his talent

His number one role model is Maziko Justice Grey, “He is the guy behind my success in the art fraternity, he introduced me to paint art, and the fact that he does not have limits in all sorts of art makes me look up to him a lot,” he expressed.

Like any other person, Khomzy Art has been in situations were he thought of giving up but he had to pull himself up because he is determined to succeed.

“Never has this industry been that smooth, but giving up was never on the menu because I love what I do, it means the world to me. Working on my weaknesses and capitalizing on my flaws worked really well in improving my work,” he affirmed.

When asked where he sees himself in 5 years, Khomzy Art clearly expressed that he would love to own an Art Gallery and a Screen-Printing Company. He further said that he considers himself as the best instructor in what he does, because he has a great passion in building new artists.

Currently, Khomzy Art does not have anyone who sponsors him towards his work, he finds it so hard to raise funds to source for materials as they are very expensive. “I have no reliable source of income to fund most of projects as I am just a collage student.”

“Art is not given the attention it deserves in Malawi, the art in me thrives on passion and hard work which in turn attracts more clients who act as my sponsors,”

His advice to young artists out there is that they should never lose hope, it might take time to build their skills and be known to a lot of masses, but focus and hard work will definitely take you somewhere.

“The Art Industry in our country is not given the attention it deserves, I thrive on passion and hard word which in turn gets me more clients who act as my sponsors.  I have come across a lot of challenges, but I know one day, my dreams will come true,” he said.