Shona Sculpt

Jairos was born in Malawi in 1980 to a Malawian father and a Zimbabwean mother, and moved to Zimbabwe at the age of five after the death of his father. Jairos attended Makomo Primary school in Epworth, Harare but never made it to high school because of financial contraints.

In 1998 he joined his brother Costa in sculpturing as an assistant before going solo ten years later. 

Jairos creates torsos and human figures as well as more abstract pieces. His dream is to exhibit his work overseas. 

Taylor was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and attended the Mzilikazi art and craft center. He worked at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe between 1974 and 1997 before moving to Chapungu sculpture park as a liaison officer for young artists. His work is found in many institutions local and abroad including the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Mr. Nkomo is best known for designing the pangolin on the old 2 Zim dollar coin. His work has also been featured in exhibitions throughout the United States including California, Colorado, New Mexico and Switzerland. 

Today he is still at Chapungu, has coached many young artists and has exhibited in Zimbabwe, the USA and Switzerland.

Luke was born in 1979 in Chitungwiza. He comes from an extended family, comprised of six boys and four girls, which he looks after.

Luke was influenced by his grandfather Saidi Sabiti, one of the early Shona sculptors, under whom he worked for many years. 

Luke first started working on small pieces of different types of stone like springstone, opal, lemon opal and verdite. Over a period he developed his own style of abstract sculpture. His work has been in Germany, USA, Holland and South Africa.

Nhamo was born in Harare in 1979 and began sculpturing after leaving high school in 1997, joining his uncle Arthur Fata at Chapungu sculpture park.

Today he is a resident artist at Chapungu sculpture park. Nhamo's work is inspired by his uncle Arthur who introduced him to the arts. He draws his inspiration from nature and the people around him as evidenced by the pieces he makes which always tell a story.

Nhamo's work has been exhibited in the USA and parts of Europe.

Mwarowa was born 1979 in the Chimanimani District, Manicaland Province, of south-eastern Zimbabwe. After completing his education in 1998, Mwarowa went to Harare to join his brother Fungani where he was introduced to stone carving. There he assisted his brother Fugani in finishing sculptures and thus gained experience and confidence until he himself became an independent artist. Mwarowa also worked for a number of years at the Chapungu Sculpture Park.

​

Mwarowa endeavors to create unique pieces, representing his own imagination. He prefers to work in the more colorful stones such as Lepidolite, Opal stone, and Leopard Stone. Mwarowa’s sculptures have been exhibited in the Netherlands, Germany, USA and South Africa.

Katiyo was born in 1970 in Murewa, Zimbabwe, his brother Royal, an accomplished sculptor himself, encouraged Benjamin to use his talents in sculpting. So in 1996 he began his journey as a sculptor working alongside his brother and attending the Gavazi Art Centre in Mvurwi. Since 2002 he has been fully engaged in his work at the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Haare.

​

Katiyo’s preferred stones to work in are springstone and verdite. He gives these materials life by using different textures and polishing techniques. He is acknowledged for his ability to express human emotions – desperation, sadness, joy, togetherness and grief.

He is dedicated to his work and infuses it with much enthusiasm, and determination.

Starting out as a carpenter at Chapungu, Cephas Mukundi began sculpting objects inspired by his dreams, invoking that time when the imagination takes over and the world comes to life in a different way. He captures rabbits, standing still, ears alert, eyes roaming to observe danger but also somehow in motion.

Cephas admires the work of leading sculptor Dominic Benhura, a sculptor who captures the restless movement of growing children.

​

Mr Mukundi is also the craftsman behind the bases on which all our sculptures are mounted.

Kadzungura was born in 1967 in Centenary, Zimbabwe. He attended St. Albert’s Secondary School in Centenary before being apprenticed to Damian Manuhwa, the famous first-generation artist. 

From the beginning, the young artist was inspired by the natural shapes of the stones as they appeared from the quarries. These forms continue to influence him. In 1997, Kadzungura was chosen for the Chapungu Resident Artist Program, where he continues to work. His subject is comprised mainly of groups of people-often-children singing, in prayer, in discussion, or in mourning.

Born into a family of 8, Moses dropped out of high school because his parents could not afford the fees. He worked as a miner for two years before joining his uncle Mr Cephas Mkundi in sculpting at the age of 19.

Moses went solo in 2004, and today his sculptures are to be seen in Switzerland, Germany and the USA. He specializes in abstract faces.

Innocent Mahachi was born in 1982 into a family of five. He grew up in rural area of Mutoko. His desire for art began at the age of 12 at primary school in drawings. After completing O levels he came to the capital, Harare, where he eventually met Fungai Mwarowa who taught him to carve stone. By assisting him to finish his pieces, Innocent gained experience and now is the professional Artist working at  Chapungu Sculpture Park as a residence artist.

​

His works have been exhibited in many countries including Germany, America and Holland. Some of his pieces include "Lovers" where he narrates how love dominates our lives socially. He mainly works on hard stones like Springstone, Lepidolite and Verdite.

Vengai Saidi was born in the high-density dormitory town of Chitungwiza, just outside of Harare. He attended school until he was 16 where his favorite subject was art. Vengai was inspired by his father, Saidi Sabiti, a first generation Zimbabwean Sculptor. During his school holidays, Vengai would assist his father, learning the nuances of his future craft from a master.

When Vengai's father passed away in 2003 he became an apprentice to Luke Saidi, honing his skills for a further four years before starting out on his own as a sculptor. 

Vengai's dream is to have his work recognized internationally, especially in the United States. 

Jeche was born in 1976 in Zimbabwe and grew up in the rural area of Chivhu. In 1995, he started sculpting as an apprentice to the world-famous 'first generation' Zimbabwean sculptor Nicholas Mukomberanwa. In 1997, he left Nicholas and teamed up with another respected artist, Albert Nathan Mamvura.

With a solid background with two of Zimbabwe's most acclaimed artists, Munyaradzi quickly developed his technique and grew in confidence. He started sculpting on his own in 1998 in the city of Chitungwiza. In Oct 2013, Munyaradzi won third prize in the art exhibition/competition ‘Celebration’, held at the Chitungwiza Arts Centre to celebrate its 15th Anniversary. Munyaradzi's work has been exhibited in Guruve's Annual Exhibition every year since 2008; his work has also been exhibited in South Africa, Germany, United States of America, and Canada.

This talented artist was born and raised in Mabvuku Tafara in Harare. His talent started showing at an early age. In primary school, Godknows was very good at technical drawing, and his love for arts would eventually cause him to leave school just after completing his primary education to pursue a career as an artist at the age of 13. He joined his cousin Costa Bakalazi, who was already a sculptor, producing his first piece of sculpture in the same year.

Two years later Kakuruwo joined the famous Amos Sipuni who fine-tuned him into a master artist. After the death of Sipuni in 2008, Kakuruwo moved to Chapungu sculpture park where he operates from up to this day. His work has been exhibited in many parts of the world.

Leo Berekayi was born in Chitungwiza,Zimbabwe in 1976. He started sculpting at a tender age through his late mother Rachel Ndandarika 
In 1996 Leo Berekayi came to Chapungu to help his mother and in 2000 he got an in invitation to join the Chapungu residency program, where he still is until today.
Leo likes to show common life in Zimbabwe through his sculptures, for example women doing everyday work such as fetching firewood and also situations which refer to the seriousness of times-like a person thinking with his chin in his hand. He prefers to work on black springstone and of late has been experimenting on very hard stones like Agate and rose quartz

Leo Berekayi has exhibited in Barcelona, Spain. Vienna, Austria. Atlanta, USA. Italy, Moscow,Russia,Boserup, Denmark, Oslo and Norway.He has attended workshops in Vinkel, Netherlands in 2007-2008 and 2009 and won the best teacher award to students.

Jorum Chiyangwa was born in 1983 in the Chivhu area. He did his primary and secondary education at Chapwanya school and completed his Ordinary education in 2001.
He came to Harare in 2002 looking for work as a teenager and during that period he was staying with his brother. In the same year 2002 he got a job as a  general hand at a small plumbing company. He only worked for a few months and left in August 2002 and joined Arthur Fata at Chapungu Sculpture Park. Arthur Fata is a world renowned artist, so Jorum worked as his assistant.
Fata taught him various techniques of sculpting.  His work participated in various exhibitions across the world like in Germany , London (UK), America , Switzerland , Australia and many more. His inspiration for art is derived from day to day lives . He strives to produce to produce unique works that represent his own imagination.
His dream is to become a master of his own so that he could become a world-renowned artist.