Professor Emeritus celebrates decade-long collaboration with Zimbabwe artists
Open gallery
After teaching at Lewis & Clark for 24 years, Richard Adams, associate professor emeritus of sociology, retired to begin a new career as executive director of the Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP).
Beginning with a sabbatical in 1992, Adams spent two years developing a Lewis & Clark overseas study program in Zimbabwe that focused on issues of gender and social change.
He led Lewis & Clark students on overseas study programs in Zimbabwe in 1994, 1997 and 1999.
After traveling in Weya, an agricultural-based community about 100 miles from Zimbabwe’s capital, he made a commitment to finding a market for Weya women artists who craft colorful quilts and paintings that tell stories of village life.
Since then, ZAP has helped these artists sustain their families during a decade that has been disastrous economically for all Zimbabweans.
The South Whidbey Record features a discussion with Adams about his work.
