The Tengenenge Art Gallery and Community

"Joram Mariga was born in Nganga and known as the father of Zimbabwe stone sculpture. Before his death, he was still very active and highly regarded in the artist sculptural movement of Zimbabwe. His career was inextricably linked with the early days of the art movement and from his Nyanga studio. He influenced many to take up stone sculpture, including John and Bernard Takawira, Moses Masaya and Chrispen Chakanyuka; the latter being influential in starting the Tengenenge art community. Admired by Frank McEwen, contributing founder of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, he said of Mariga, he “Whispered the Gospel of sculpture” throughout Zimbabwe and was regarded with much affection and respect. Mariga’s own works often reflect his cultural beliefs in a very strong and distinctively personal style."

"Crispen Chakanyuka (1943 – 2002) was a Zimbabwean sculptor. Born in the Guruve district, Chakanyuka completed his schooling in 1960, and traveled to Nyanga to look for work. There he met Joram Mariga, to whom he was introduced by John Takawira. Mariga taught him to sculpt, soon sending him to Frank McEwen at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. McEwen referred Chakanyuka to the Nyarutsetso Art Centre, where he spent two years sculpting and working as a teacher. Once established, he returned to Guruve and opened a studio.
In 1966 Tom Blomefield, owner of the Tengenenge Farm in Guruve, asked Chakanyuka to teach him to sculpt. Chakanyuka did so, noting rich deposits of serpentinite on the farm. As the United Nations began to impose restrictions on Rhodesia, tobacco farming became less profitable, so the two men turned the farm into the Tengenenge Sculpture Community. Chakanyuka stayed for some months, teaching a number of young sculptors."

Thomas Blomefield, the Man: A dilapidated abandoned self-named museum in Tengenenge, by Geja Stassen, a Dutch professor of architecture, speaks volumes of Tom Blomefield’s legacy in Tengenenge. It was a legacy of exploitation and neglect. At the very end, he died a lonely and neglected man, attended only by an architect beguiled by his inventive heroic colonial tales of “discovery” and adventurism, and mutually profitable exploitative collaborations benefiting from the labour of indigent scupltors.
In his own words, Thomas Blomefield noted that “The area of Tengenenge formerly belonged to Chief Chimbwerere. The Government [of Rhodesia] had moved his village to the Sipolilo tribal trust land, to make place for European settlers.”
What he failed to mention was that even in the 1950s when many among the African multiracial elite had worked for racial integration and merit-based political leadership anchored on non-racial principles, that he in 1952 invaded, occupied and confiscated 2,000 hectares of arable and mineral rich escarpment that would come to be known as Tengenenge, [Kutangu-Kutangu] or the start of the beginning, of as it turns out, an endless and ongoing exploitation of the Tengenenge community.
This he achieved through administrative fiat with the support of the white supremacist Rhodesian administration.
Tom Blomefield described his “peaceful coexistence” with the dispossessed and banished former chief of Tengenenge. The same man he referred to as Chimbwerere Shamba Mmbewa, whose wife according to him brought him rice and eggs basket to warmly welcome him to the community, would be banished from the community he headed in order to make room for Blomefield and his commercial interests.
In his autobiography, he noted that he “received an award from the Arts Council for the best contribution to the visual arts of Zimbabwe. My sculptures won an award of merit in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, yet I have never had a single day of art lessons.” Yet, he would begrudgingly admit that but for the tutelage he received from Crispen Chakanyuka, the story of Tengenenge as a stone sculpture community may never have been.
By his own attestation, “Mariga worked in Nyanga with John and Bernard Takawira, Bernard Manyandure and Crispen Chakanyuka. They were the first-generation sculptors before Tengenenge started.” It was by “finding Crispen Chakanyuka that Tengenenge became possible.”
In essence, the native people of Zimbabwe had an ongoing stone art civilization and culture that predated the arrival of Europeans. That culture was alive and well before, during and after the advent of settler colonial invaders.

As noted by Dr. Tony Monda (2016: https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/truth-about-tengenenge-part-two-the-village-bloemfield-wanted-to-keep-in-the-dark-ages/), "In 1965, Chrispine Chakanyuka (1933- 2002), a sculptor and nephew to Sekuru Joram Mariga, drew Bloemfield’s attention to the deposits of serpentine stone in the area and convinced Bloemfield to support the stone sculptors where Tengenenge farm workers — sculptors Fanizani Akuda, Zambian (1932-2002), Mozambican Luizi Purumeri (1929-1983), Malawian Makina Kameya (1920-1988) and others had already begun to exhibit their characteristic simple silhouettes."

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The Neglect

In an article for the Patriot newspaper in 2018, Dr. Tony Monda noted that: "While some Western art experts argued that the natural surroundings gave artists ‘the closeness to nature necessary for producing original art’, they, however, gave no thought to the exploitative, dirty, unsanitary conditions the artists worked under, and their families lived in. Bloemfield had not encouraged any of the artists, or their children, to further their education or improve their lives in any way. He simply amassed the vast fortune which he exported to Holland, leaving behind three generations of impoverished and disadvantaged Zimbabweans.'

"In 1993 I accompanied a group of international visitors to Tengenenge. I was again appalled at the continued legacy of indigenous African exploitation that persisted at Tengenenge, where Bloemfield deprived the people of their basic human rights to sanitation and children’s education, despite the huge profits being made by Bloemfield and several good schools located in the area. Most children sired by the artists continued to stay at Tengenenge to help their fathers sculpt, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and the production of naive art from naive artists."

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"Josiah's parents moved from Malawi to Zimbabwe in 1918. His father was a builder at Tengenenge, a large tobacco farm in those years. He made extra money for the family by carving masks. Taught by his father, Josiah also became a mask carver. He made his start with sculpting stone in 1967. During the morning he would work on the farm and in the afternoon he would sculpt.

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When Tengenenge closed in 1979 because of the war, the Manzi family is the only one which stayed at Tengenenge. During this time period in Zimbabwe, there was a budding art movement in the making. It was relatively slow to develop but was given massive impetus in 1966 by the owner [colonist occupier] of Tengenenge, Tom Blomefield, a white South-African-born farmer. The farm had extensive deposits of serpentine stone suitable for carving. A sculptor in stone himself, he wanted to diversify the use of his land and welcomed Josiah and new sculptors onto it to form a community of working artists. This was in part because at that time there were international sanctions against Rhodesia's white government led by Ian Smith, who had declared Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, and tobacco was no longer able to generate sufficient income. Appropriately, Tengenenge means 'The Beginning of the Beginning' -  in this case of a significant new enterprise that has lasted through to the present day.

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Josiah's work is spiritual, maybe because of his Yao culture. In some of his sculpture, the anatomy develops new and often disturbing relationships. To Josiah it seems natural for breasts to develop from thighs, yet to the on looker it seems surreal and a subversion of orthodoxy. His 'Monkey and Owl and his Mirror' seen like giant cameos-the smooth, carved figures of the animals, the bird and the human face carefully inlaid into the stone and offset by their natural setting. He notes, "Before I start a sculpture, I take off the blanket of stone, like taking off the skin of an animal. Nobody eats an animal before the skin is taken off"."

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The list of Josiah's accomplishments is extensive and spans decades. [He was married] to the sculptress Janet Manzi with seven children. 

A master of floral sculptural themes, Cosmas was born in 1984. A comparatively recent arrival to Tengengenge (2005), Comas grew up in the Harare metropolis. Orphaned in 2000 at age 16, he went to live with his elder sibling in the Harare suburb of Budiriro.

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“At first my brother’s salary was not enough for the two of us, so I was forced into self-jobs. I started making traditional sandals and playing music together with my friend. We were playing traditional mbira and formed a band with the name Shuramuroveand. I as the bandleader showcased my talent and ability performing in different places like hotels and clubs. When I was doing my sixth form at Royal College, I could manage to pay my own tuition. During my spare time, especially on exit holidays, I made traditional mbiras that I sold to foreign visitors at large.”

“To the greater extent, I was inspired by my nationality. Zimbabwe means “The house of stone”. So, to me, living in the house of stone and working on stone is quite a pleasure.” A man completely in tune with his culture, he has traveled far and wide to promote Tengenenge stone sculpture. His most recent, a 2024 trip across Europe where he exhibited works by several artists from Tengenenge.

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A very quotable quote by Cosmas goes like this: If it ever came to a choice between my wife and my culture, I would choose my culture. But my wife is my culture.”

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With an Advanced Level diploma that he earned in 2004, he had a stint as a teacher before relocating to Tengenenge to apprentice with his brother Wellington, himself an established artist. In recognition of his eruditeness and expertise, in February 2025, Cosmas became the permanent sales and administration officer assigned by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe to manage the affairs of Tengenenge Arts Gallery.

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A proud traditionalist and an accomplished mbira crafter, musicologist and instrumentalist, Cosmas’ adeptness with mbira tunes is only matched by his surreal ability to generate seemingly gravity defying forms in his curvilinear manipulation of serpentine stones. Cosmas Chingondi is a rare gem of an artist and arguably the best at what he does.

Ali Chitaro was born in 1993. Asked to say something about himself, the still nimble 92-year young Chitaro quips, as translated, “I am one of the first generation of artists in Zimbabwe. Mostly, my arts are mainly transforming human beings, animals and birds. I exhibited locally and abroad in countries such as America, Mozambique, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain to mention a few. I am a fulltime sculptor here in Tengenenge.”

But like many in his and the current generation of sculptors in Tengenenge who hold multiple jobs, Mr. Chitaro farms to supplement his earnings from stone carving.

Ali Chitaro is currently married to a gregarious, three generations' later woman. With seven kids and several grandchildren, Chitaro says he was inspired to engage in sculpting by Tom Blomefield on the Tengenenge farm in 1967.
 

Today, he is a fixture at the gallery, often appearing from nowhere like a spirit. With a gaze that appears as one who sees through another, he beckons for one to follow him to his stand replete with sculptures that seem to be from another time. His pieces appear to hold ancestral secrets that only he can unlock.

Imbayago et al, in their submission in 2024, (Reading beyond the imagery: interpreting the art of Tengenenge sculpture community), noted that “Finally, Ali Chitaro captures the essence of motion and stillness in sculptures like The Moment, depicting figures frozen in time to evoke introspection and contemplation.” Ali Chitaro's work shows human figures in motion, but unlike Tembo or Muhomba, his figures are often caught in frozen moments. Chitaro's sculptures often evoke a sense of stillness, as if time has stopped for the depicted figures. One example of this is his sculpture, The Moment, which depicts a figure jumping in the air. The figure is caught in a moment of weightlessness, as if time has stopped. “

That is an apt description of man who works and lives as if time has stopped for him.

Phineas Leon, born in Guruve in 1982, discovered his passion for sculpting at the age of 16. Under his father's guidance, he swiftly mastered the fundamentals and developed a unique style that showcases his artistic prowess. His artwork primarily explores themes of family and love, reflecting his deep connection to his community.

Despite his gentle nature, Phineas possesses a fierce creative intensity that has earned him international recognition. As a respected man, with deep religious convictions, he plays a vital role in his community, serving as a liaison between artists and clients. Phineas is partnered with Rumbidzai Gomo, a talented artist, and together they have built a loving family.

Phineas' sculptures have been exhibited in several European countries, including Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, and most recently, Slovenia in summer 2024, and Atlanta in 2025. .

Within his community, Phineas is revered as a pillar of strength and support. He selflessly assists fellow artists in polishing their work before shipment and helps negotiate sales. Buyers from around the world trust and admire Phineas, who has become an integral part of Tengenenge's vibrant art scene.

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Linah Bakari was born on February 6, 1992, in Tengenenge Art Gallery village, Guruve. She attended Horseshoe government elementary school for her primary education, starting in 2000 and completing her grade 7 in 2007. Linah is the daughter of Bakari Manzi, who passed away in 2001. Her grandfather, the renowned Josiah Manzi, passed away in 2022.

Unable to complete her formal education due to a lack of access, Linnah poured her energy into the mastery of stones. Despite not completing her secondary education, Linah's sculptures showcase her innate talent and mastery of working with stone. Her pieces tell stories that are both sensual and majestic, often exploring themes of love, family, and care. Linah's unique application of curves in her stone figures sets her apart as a skilled artist.

Linah began sculpting at the age of 13, inspired by her father. Her family is notable for having three generations of contemporaneous practicing artists at the Tengenenge Arts Gallery before the passing of her father and grandfather.

In 2005, Linah exhibited in the International Children's Exhibition and won a gold medal. She is partnered with Taurai Rukodzi, a talented sculptor also based in Tengenenge.