Online Reporter
Trust Khosa
Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment
THERE is something magical and sacred about the Tengenenge Arts Centre.
Nestled in the heart of Guruve, Mashonaland Central province, this rich cultural and artistic hub has long been regarded as the “Mecca” of stone sculpture.
Established in 1966, Tengenenge produced works now held by international collectors and prestigious institutions.
For sculptors and enthusiasts alike, the centre’s success was forged with little more than a cold chisel and a club hammer — but by the vision of its founder, Tom Blomefield.
Blomefield directed the centre for decades before retiring in 2007 and entrusted its leadership to the revered sculptor, Dominic Benhura, with strong support from the local community.
Blomefield died in 2020 aged 94.
Since then, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) has taken the responsibility of managing this important cultural site and ensuring it remains relevant.
Despite that intervention, there are genuine concerns that Tengenenge’s vitality has waned since Blomefield’s death.
Once a buoyant arts hub, the centre has lost much of its former lustre as many sculptors have left and demand for stone sculpture has declined.
Sanctions and fewer international buyers have intensified the challenges facing the visual arts sector in Zimbabwe.
Leading practitioners, local residents and community leaders fear that Tengenenge’s identity and future were buried metaphorically with Blomefield’s remains after his cremation in Enschede, the Netherlands.
It is painful to recall that this is the place where Chrispine Chakanyuka (1933-2002), the nephew of Sekuru Joram Mariga, first attracted Blomefield’s attention.
It was here, amid rich deposits of serpentine stone, that convinced Blomefield to make Tengenenge his second home, that farm workers discovered their hidden talents and became sculptors.
Notable artists associated with Tengenenge included Zambian Fanizani Akuda (1932-2002); Mozambican Luizi Pungu, often cited as Luizi Pungure or Purumeri (1929-1983); and Malawian Makina Kameya (1920-1988).
NGZ director Raphael Chikukwa, whose institution is now in charge of Tengenenge and protecting visual artists, said they had not neglected the centre.
He assured Tengenenge sculptors that NGZ will continue lobbying for their welfare.
With the country set to host the 58th annual conference of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM) at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe — which brings together over 300 museum directors and curators — Chikukwa said Tengenenge sculptures will be part of the global arts jamboree.
“We have been sending teams there, and this time around, as we host CIMAM, we will make a facility where they can come and showcase their wares,” he said.
“We are going to set aside mini-galleries for them in Harare and Chitungwiza to ensure they are part of this global celebration. It is our responsibility to look after our artists and make sure they get the exposure they desire.”
Benhura, who once chaired the Tengenenge Arts Centre, remains a leading creative voice and has long expressed a desire for the centre to regain its former prominence.
“I was there four months ago with an American visitor, but the situation is no longer the same,” Benhura shared.
“I left my position more than five years ago when the National Gallery of Zimbabwe took over the running of the place.
“NGZ seconded Newsten Chipoya, who is in charge of the centre, but it’s no longer the same. There are other artists at the centre, like Cosmos Chingondi, but they need help for continuity.”
Benhura, who has a strong bond with the Tengenenge community, highlighted that most of the sculptors have left the compound for other side hustles such as chrome mining.
“There is a lot of mining activity in Guruve after the arrival of Chinese investors in the area.
“One such activity now popular in the area is chrome mining, which has seen the majority of sculptors leaving Tengenenge,” he stated.
Despite the sector’s dire straits, Benhura remains confident that it will continue to be relevant.
“This bad patch, which has seen most of us trying other career paths, does not mean the death of stone sculpture,” he said.
“In fact, new creatives will certainly emerge, and those with a special calling will thrive despite these challenges.
“We are not ruling out that all is not well for the sector, but we keep working hard even if the traffic of buyers has dwindled.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Tengenenge Arts Centre’s current chairperson, Cosmos Chingondi, who has been in the game for 21 years.
“Sculpting is all that I have known in my life, and to see most of my peers struggling makes me sad,” he said.
“Buyers no longer frequent or visit Tengenenge as they used to, and it is now survival of the fittest.
“It is really hard for most of us at Tengenenge to survive because business is slow.”
The 41-year-old appealed for the President’s intervention to save the centre.
“We are appealing for help from our President, who has been assisting other sectors, to intervene. This area carries a special history, and we cannot afford to let it lose its relevance,” he said.
“Those who regulate the arts sector should also help us through marketing. We have many art pieces at Tengenenge, but no buyers to come and buy our products.”
Despite these setbacks, Chingondi vowed to keep working hard.
“We will keep working hard as the last sculptors standing, but we do not have basics,” he said.
“The major things we need at the moment are a tractor and trailer, and also a 10-tonne truck for ferrying raw stones from areas away from our art village.
“We get raw materials as far as Chiweshe, Rushinga, Nyanga and Masvingo.”
He strongly believes that aggressive marketing can still assist them since they rely on tourists.
“Buyers of our products get their wares at galleries and museums, and in our case we have such a hub at Tengenenge,” said Chingondi.
“I still have strong faith that we can revive our genre.
With other centres like Chapungu Sculpture Park and Chitungwiza Arts Centre, and galleries in Victoria Falls facing challenges, prospects do not look good for some institutions — including Tengenenge.
It was at this centre that artists such as Angolan Wazi Maicolo (1936-1987), Malawian Amali Malola (1914-2002), Barankina Costa (1932-1998), Ephraim Chaurika, Josia Manzi (b. 1933), Malawian Lemon Moses (1925-1997) and Bernard Matemera (1946–2003) made an impact.
Of course, sculptors need to improvise and diversify, but it is difficult for many since sculpting has always been their calling.
With sector leaders like Benhura conceding that all is not well at Tengenenge, many are waiting for the moment when the centre will rise again.
Despite the decline in buyers, sculpting should always thrive at Tengenenge.
Tengenenge is more than an arts hub but a living repository of talent, history and cultural heritage.
Although the centre faces serious challenges — declining buyers, artist departures and uncertainty after Blomefield’s death — its legacy endures in the work and influence of the sculptors it nurtured.
With continued support from institutions such as the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, renewed local investment and renewed international interest, Tengenenge can recover its vibrancy and continue to shape the future of Zimbabwean stone sculpture.
Preserving and promoting the centre is not only an act of cultural stewardship, but an investment in the livelihoods and creativity of generations to come.
Tinaye Agere