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Tingatinga Postcards

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Tingatinga Postcards

Tanzania is not only a treasury of African wild animals, but also it is the origin of unique, world-famous Tingatinga art. The collection of Tingatinga postcards featured below has been produced through the cooperation of various Tingatinga artists.

The proceeds of these postcards will be used to improve quality of life for the people in developing countries.

The price of one set, featuring eight different postcards, for orders within Japan is 1,000 Japanese yen , including tax and postage. Please contact us for information about international orders.

We also welcome any shops, department stores, and/or distributors who might be interested in collaborating with us to sell these postcards.

*Inquiries/contact information

Tingatinga Art

Tingatinga Art is so named for its association to Mr. Edward Saidi Tingatinga, who was born near the southern border of Tanzania to Mozambique.

In the early 1960s, Tingatinga moved from the farming village where he grew up to the city of Dar es Salaam, where he worked at a construction site. Tingatinga art is said to have originated at this construction site, where Tingatinga began to paint pictures of the world as it occurred to him onto wooden boards. Shortly thereafter, Tingatinga's works piqued the interest of Europeans who lived in Tanzania at the time. At the advice of these Europeans, it was featured at an exhibition at the National Museum in Tanzania in 1972. As a result, his paintings attracted extraordinary attention from visitors and people throughout the world. Sadly, Tingatinga was soon shot to death by local police, who had confused him for a burglar at a construction site. Therefore, there remains only a small number of his actual paintings, as his creative period was extremely short. However, his relatives and disciples have carried on his artistic style and spirit, and even now many artists continue to emulate his style.

Tingatinga Art is characterized by its wonderfully vivid and colorful representation of the familiar: village life, prayer, wild animals, and birds are among common subjects. Tingatinga artists work by influencing each other; they share and polish their artistic skills and sensitivity to create distinctly individual works. Modern-day Tingatinga Art, compared to that of the 1960s, is extremely polished, and has gained great attention around the world as pop art that exudes harmony and sensitivity. Just by looking at it, Tingatinga art draws viewers into another world that is full of imagination. It is, perhaps, this ability to warm and satisfy the heart wherein lies its appeal.

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