Startup Story
Lorna Mashiba is the founder of Rangi Gallery in Tanzania, a virtual platform that connects African artists to Intercontinental art enthusiasts. As the founder of Rangi Gallery, she aspires to grow, empower and transform local talent beyond its borders.
LoA learned more about this passion driven art entrepreneur who is on a mission to showcase the artistic talent of the African continent to global connoisseurs and collectors.
Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Lorna Mashiba and I am the founder of Rangi Gallery in Tanzania. My background includes holding various positions at law firms, a microfinance institution, establishing a consultancy firm based in Dubai & Dar es salaam, and making partner at the MLG law firm. As a results-driven corporate lawyer with 8+ years of experience ensuring legal compliance, planning, strategy and building relationships, I was able to achieve several wins for the firm, overseeing successful mergers but most importantly being the partner with the most client engagements. Outside being a specialist in commercial relations, I am attuned to my senses and am highly intrigued by colour, images, movement, and sounds that are translated to visual arts. I never pursued art, yet art always pursued me.
“My unending love of the arts would not stop, no matter how much I submerged myself in the law firm and the other family business. The gallery would be the first and last thing I thought about daily.”
What does your company do?
The appropriate question would be, what do we not do? The gallery’s overarching goal is to be a one-stop-shop for all things art in the markets it has presence. We would like to take pride in making available a wide range of African artworks from different artists and other related merchandise and services to our clients through our online platform and physical space.
The gallery uses an inclusive 360-degree approach that goes beyond showcasing, curating and selling art pieces to those who know art. As a gallery, we consider every individual an artist therefore, the way the gallery operates, it integrated multiple components that attract both art collectors and your average joe such as emphasis on cultural heritage; talent scouting and management; provide interior décor solutions; develop learning and development programs for artists, art enthusiasts and children; offer advisory services, and supply art tools and equipment.
In terms of specialization, the gallery specializes in talent acquisition, development and management. The gallery takes pride in professionally developing the career of artists through the provision of business support services such as negotiating contracts, portfolio development, and other business/marketing-related activities like proposal writing, brand building activities and other training.
What inspired you to start your company?
Ten years ago, I co-owned a small art gallery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, called the Ujamma Art Gallery. For me, that was an absolute dream come true. However, for the market, it was not ready for an active art scene. Therefore, after struggling to break even, I had to shut the gallery down. After the closure of Ujamaa Art Gallery, I was still stubborn in laying down an art footprint in Tanzania so I immediately registered the Rangi Gallery in 2014, with the hopes of reviving my art dreams on my own terms when the time allows.
Then, of course, life happened! Met a man, got pregnant and somehow found myself a single mother, left alone to tend for myself and my daughter. I knew at the time, I had to hold off on pursuing my dream a bit longer. So, I did what I was trained to do professionally and did some consulting work, then eventually opened up my law firm. That kept us going and provided the necessary comforts.
Here we are, ten years later, and my unending love of the arts would not stop, no matter how much I submerged myself in the law firm and the other family business. The gallery would be the first and last thing I thought about daily.
I felt that I always focused on the wrong thing. When it finally hit me, that art is at the core of my life purpose. I started planning on how to transition yet making very little progress on the actual transition. Then, it was just last year that I got to experience my AHA moment when the news of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Tanzania, testing positive, and falling extremely sick. I realized that “I might just die not having done what I love to do the most,” so that is when I decided to launch my gallery, virtually, and operate it as if I was operating a physical space. So, I did. Here we are now. It started as a dream, that became virtual and now has a physical space.
So maybe my courage and risk-taking behaviour finally paid off and I can finally be able to do the one thing that I love to do more than anything else in the world. And just maybe, my innate love for art, space and design has been a blessing in disguise. And that I could finally put it to good use. Finally allowing myself to explore and expose the Tanzanian art scene globally and exhibit these findings locally.
I am glad this passion has enabled me to think outside the box and find an innovative solution to pursuing my dream and making it a reality, not only virtually but physically as well. Also, because I can freely express myself. Through this endeavour, I am in a way, bestowed the luxury to sell the artworks I want, by the artists I admire.
My hope is to contribute to the arts and empower people like me to build a collaborative working environment and hopefully leave an impact that is constructive to the art world, allowing room for continuous learning and growth in this sector that I feel is so under-tapped but full of potential. I urge everyone to join me in discovering Tanzania, Africa, and the talents of the world through my careful selection by perusing through the Rangi Gallery website.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
There is a large group of people – locally and internationally – that appreciate and love African art pieces whether it is solely for artistic reasons, decoration or learning and development purposes. In many households and offices, you will come across various pieces of artwork hanging on walls. With a population of nearly reaching 60 million and a rising middle class, we project the demand for quality and accessible artwork for décor related purposes. As a result, Rangi hopes to appeal to the wider audience – beyond the art community – to actively retail a wide range of artwork and related merchandise to the following groups of people:
Professional artists;
Amateur artists and crafters, including hobbyists;
Businesses: Private (Corporate, Executives, Interior Decorators, Home Remodelers, Event Planners), NGO’s and Government Organization;
Tourists
Households
Teachers and students
At present, the gap lies in meeting customers’ needs in terms of accessibility and channels of distribution. As a result, Rangi aspires to be part of the movement that revives and preserves authentic art pieces as opposed to the imported faux paintings which are electronically manufactured that are donned in every Tanzanian and African home’s right now. This gap presents an opportunity for Rangi Gallery to bridge this gap by providing an interactive one-stop online shop for both buyers and sellers.
“Maybe my courage and risk-taking behaviour finally paid off and I can finally be able to do the one thing that I love to do more than anything else in the world.”
“Maybe my courage and risk-taking behaviour paid off and I can finally be able to do the one thing that I love to do more than anything else in the world.”
Tell us a little about your team
Rangi Gallery’s founding team was a small group of five (5) extraordinary people working part-time while driving their own very established careers, but who assisted greatly in bringing the Gallery to fruition. They led me through all the stages of the development cycle with their combined knowledge, thinking, driven by innovation and bringing my idea to life. And for this, I will forever be indebted to them, because they helped lift this off the ground after 10 years of procrastination. They helped in making sure I walked before I could fly.
Rangi recently hired and partnered with its newest member who will be serving as the Gallery Manager, Ms Asteria Malinzi. A fine arts photographer, she completed her BA(Hons) in Business Management and Marketing at the University of Derby, the United Kingdom in 2012. She went on to pursue photography and relocated to Cape Town, South Africa in 2015 where she graduated from Cape Town School of Photography. Since graduating she has participated in several exhibitions in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Egypt.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I live and I breathe art. My love for art has been present since I was a child and it grew as my exposure around the world increased especially during the time I spent in India. I spent six years in India and during my stay, the vibrancy of colour and creativity in the Indian culture and art scene opened new avenues of my mind. Whether it in woodwork, painting, watercolours, jewellery design, and the experience amplified my interest in art. My inspiration ignited, and reignited, through the different art galleries I visited and my level of understanding behind the culture of the pieces.
As a little girl, I remember spending countless hours drawing, sketching and impressing my teachers with my artistic hand. Subjects like mathematics and physics were not subjects that moved me and frankly, I was not competent in them either. Unfortunately, given the cultural preferences and the generation I grew up in, I was unable to pursue an education that would position me to be immersed in the art scene, however, my love for art remained within me eagerly waiting to burst out.
I started with collecting art pieces from around the world and through my exposure and collection, my enthusiasm to start an art gallery grew to the point where I would rather starve in order to buy a very beautiful piece of art, with the knowledge that one day this piece of art would be worth a lot of money. Furthermore, I can be quite particular and can spend years looking for a specific piece. So that is basically what motivated and inspired me to start the business.
My first gallery – yes, I had a gallery prior Rangi – was not very successful given that there was a lack of awareness in art in Tanzania then and the partnership formed to operate this gallery did not work out too well. Therefore, after a couple of years of running, we had to shut it down. It was a painful experience (emotionally and financially) yet, there were many lessons I learned and carried on into the birth of Rangi.
Coming from an entrepreneurial background, the failed gallery did not put me down for too long. My father, despite being a civil servant, had several side businesses; my mother would supervise and champion my father’s side businesses as well as manage her own little projects – you see my mother has an eye for quality and was good at spotting material (from clothing to construction materials to you name it) and transforming and allocating it to the right clientele. And on top of that, she ran a livestock farming business. Talk about super-mom, huh?
I definitely got the fearless spirit from my parents as well as my openness to try out new and different things. I am always thinking of what to do to make money and influence society positively. If I have something in mind that bothers me, I will not stop until I see it to completion. I definitely got my drive from my parents too, so I am grateful for them.
As for me, I am not afraid to take risks and when my heart goes into something, I do not back down until I see it take off. Giving up is not in my vocabulary, but giving birth is and that is how I am here today with my new baby, the Rangi Gallery.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
The RANGI vision is to become Tanzania’s leading art gallery by running a one-stop art gallery by providing a space – virtually and physically – where it explores what art is, what the discipline entails, showcases and distributes the widest definition of art and its forms, illustrating the value of both amateur and professional art.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
First and foremost, there's a huge satisfaction of doing what you love and enjoying it. It's the freedom to do as I please for me, doing it my way in other words. The no boundary notion, the freedom of flexible working hours that suit my lifestyle and also knowing that I can take time off whenever I want, goes a long way in achieving entrepreneur satisfaction. Especially when you are doing what you love.
Despite the lower and inconsistent income at times, and the difficulty of finding the right balance between work and personal life and most times ending up sacrificing the latter in the effort to grow a healthy, thriving business.
There is no greater satisfaction than when you toil in doing your passion and you succeed. That's why I am a huge believer in the mantra "work hard, play hard " in the midst of attempting to balance the two.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
When you start your venture, no matter what challenges you encounter, always look forward, not back.
Be bold, learn through your mistakes and keep pushing forward, because you are most likely moving towards the right direction. Last but not least, always remember, it starts with you.
Believe in yourself. No one is going to believe in you, the way you do in yourself.
Contact or follow Rangi Gallery
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL lornamashiba@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
At Lionesses of Africa we are huge fans of passion-driven women entrepreneurs who pursue their love for what they do and the impact they can make in the world. Lorna Mashiba is one such passion driven entrepreneur, and having waited for the right time to follow her love of fine art and turn it into a business, she is making her entrepreneurial dream a reality. Her passion for showcasing artistic talent on the African continent and connecting those artists to global art lovers and collectors is also positively changing lives and careers. We look forward to watching Rangi Gallery grow and thrive over the coming months and years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa