Wherever you travel as a journalist, however dicey the destination, there is usually an Upside tale to be found in art.

I have a few personal favourites: Bosnian war art, the humour of the Mitki in the late Soviet period, the only artist in the Falkland Islands …

This week, our Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, discovered that even in a country as demoralised as Zimbabwe, contemporary art thrives. His article prompted responses from readers pointing out that this is not limited to the capital, Harare.

Pip Curling wrote in:

I worked at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and was on the board of trustees there too. I personally collected a body of work that told the story of the country from the late 1980s to probably 2007 when hyperinflation hit. My collection is sometimes the work of rural, self-taught and unsung artists which have never been seen because of the political situation.

This painting by the Zimbabwean artist Misheck Gudo is apposite given that Mugabe has recently died. The central figure is the owl and is easily recognised as a caricature. Photograph: Pip Curling

Misheck Gudo came as a young man from a small village in the eastern districts of Zimbabwe to try his luck in Harare. Often the self-taught artists tell a narrative more than they might attempt to expose an emotion or a feeling. The works are usually self-explanatory and require no verbal input from the artist. Myth, legend and proverb sometimes play their part. Misheck made this painting after the heavily contested general election in Zimbabwe in 2005.

Art gives us that chance to stand back, take stock, see the context, the wider picture – a vital safety valve in societies that are seething with antagonism and dispute. In another furious week in the UK, the Turner prize comes as welcome relief. In Latvia, they’re trying to use culture as a unifying force.

And as highlighted in this newsletter back in the summer, some even believe that art and culture can improve mental health. It can certainly improve your wealth if you find something valuable in the kitchen.

Other Upside treats this week:

1. What is to be done if your country only has one practising psychologist for every million people? Three-minute read.

2. The quest for a forgiveness emoji. Short and sweet.

Never mind … Photograph: forgivemoji.com

3. Mental illness data is patchy and unreliable. “One in four” is really just a guess. Now a new attempt is being made to map and measure it properly. One-minute read.

4. Try before you buy: the German city offering trial stays to prospective new inhabitants. One month, rent free.

5. Young people flock to apply for a new UK degree in social change. Four-year course.

Homework!

Don’t forget, readers, your homework from earlier this month. We asked who deserves a knighthood, recognition, honours? We’ve had some lovely suggestions in, and are keen for more. The best will be published in the Upside’s honours list later this year.

We shall endeavour to contact all your nominees and offer them a lifetime subscription to the Upside weekly news roundup. Send your herograms to theupside@theguardian.com.

Lucky numbers

The greenest country in the world is expecting to generate 99% of its energy from renewable sources in 2019.

What we liked

This, from Time, about the world’s first gender neutral doll. Eight-minute read.

Dolled up Photograph: Mattel/PA

Also this, about a different way to exercise, in the Atlantic.

And finally this nice little exercise to map the third most prevalent languages in countries around the world

Photograph: Budget Direct

What we heard

Sue Cassell reported back from an inaugural event in western England.

Nearly a hundred people enjoyed a 20-minute show of upcycled secondhand clothes and eco-fashion on Saturday 14 September, in the setting of the upstairs floor of Chippenham Library. Local models showcased outfits that had been created from clothes and accessories from charity shops, with one or two eco-items thrown into the mix. The show was part of the launch of Refashion My Town, with Chippenham being chosen as the pilot town for the campaign.

Katherine Conway wrote:

I think in this current consumer climate it would be great to do a story on Aaron Feuerstein whose company, Malden Mills, made Polartec fabric, and when the mill burned down in the 1990s Feuerstein continued to pay employees until the mill could reopen.

And Chared Verschuur-Ballo got in touch from the Netherlands.

I thought that you would probably be interested in a story where pastoralists in low-income countries are using geo-satellite to find food (grass and water) for their livestock. This is quite groundbreaking. Some more stories here.

Where was the Upside?

In Gaza, with a rare glimpse of the light.

And of course back on the streets, after an important week for the climate movement.

Thanks for reading. Tell a friend about us. Get in touch with your best ideas, so we can pretend they are ours. Write to theupside@theguardian.com.