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Tengenenge Sculptors Art Village
Located in
Zimbabwe :: Mashonaland
Category:
Places :: Village
The Guruve district is comprised of two parts, the Upper Guruve and Lower Guruve Rural Districts. The latter, commonly known as the Mbire District, has origins tracing back to the Mutapa Empire, an ancient African kingdom in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is modern-day Mozambique. The Guruve district, though found in a largely non-descript location, deserves a visit if only to visit the Tengenenge Sculpture Village where artists carve raw stone into sculptures representing their Shona roots.
The village was established in 1966 by South African-born Tom Blomefield, who came to the country in 1946 to begin a career in tobacco farming and chrome mining. When tobacco and chrome became the target of sanctions, he founded the art community as a livelihood for his labourers. Tengenenge, Shona for ‘the beginning of the beginning’, endured the fight for the country’s independence in 1980, in the face of great economic difficulty and minimal tourism activity.
The stone used in the sculptures is mined from the Great Dyke and is received free of charge by the artists - when a sculpture is sold, the miners and other villagers share in the income. The Tengenenge Arts Centre manages artists’ sales, water and electricity. The Tengenenge community of artists and their families have attained international acclaim since the institution’s inception in 1966.
Traveller DescriptionTengenenge is situated at the end of a fairly good gravel road, surrounded by the mountains of the Great Dyke. You will pass a large chrome mine (which maintains this road) on the way to the village, but do not be discouraged, the village itself is a few kilometres beyond the mine and retains its rural atmosphere.
Arriving at the village, your first observation will be the multitude of sculptures resting in the shade; sculptures of all shapes and sizes including animals, abstract work and one of Madiba! Park your car to the right, and by the time you have stretched your legs, someone will be there to assist. A guided tour of the sculpture park to meet the artists is free of charge, but it is customary to tip the guide. Any purchases are appreciated and are issued with a formal hand-written
receipt, and can be shipped to your country of choice, at an additional fee.
A tour of the sculptures will take about an hour - you will mostly be in the shade and can walk at your own pace. The tour can be extended to include the village itself, as well as the mine where the stone is brought down.
Tom Blomefield, founder of the Tengenenge Arts Centre, died in the Netherlands on 8 April 2020, at the age of 93. His ashes are housed in an urn in a large Bernard Matemera sculpture at Tengenenge, elevated on a vast granite rock, below the Tengenenge Museum.
| Address : | Tengenenge, Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe |
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| Cellphone Reception : | Intermittent |
| Languages spoken : | English |
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| Towing Service Telephone : | +263(0)78 057 9261 / +263(0)71 808 4297 / +263(0)73 652 3424 (DRIVE Zimbabwe Roadside Assistance) |
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ACCOMMODATION:
The only accommodation is offered by the village itself. Three rustic Shona huts, with a kitchen, beds with clean bedding, and a communal shower and toilet, form a little accommodation unit for visitors. The villagers take pride in their offering, and we recommend that you book in advance in order to secure your space and give them time to prepare the huts.
There is no official campsite, but you may park in the car park for the night and put up your tent. The ablutions are far from the car park, so ideally you should have your own toilet available. Note that public indecency is frowned upon in Zimbabwe, so please don’t use the nearest “lava-tree” for your ablutions, proper shelter is required.
Traditional meals are available on request, but it would be best to book in advance for a large group, in order to have the necessary supplies available. Prices vary from US$3 to US$8 per meal, or you can provide your own supplies and pay US$3 per day to have it cooked. You can contact award-winning sculptor, Agrippa Tirigu, who is also a trained chef, on +263(0)77 335 8836 or +263(0)71 388 4594, maxwelltendaitirigu@gmail.com or maxtirigu@gmail.com.
NYAMANECHE NATIONAL PARK:
The nearby Nyamaneche National Park, a few kilometres south of the village, is no longer operational. The park headquarters were deserted during our visit, but the sandy gravel road leading through the park was in good condition, a good option if you are heading in a southerly direction.
SHOPS & SERVICES:
The nearest fuel is in Guruve, but you may prefer to do your shopping and refuelling in Mvurwi, which has fuel, gas, good guesthouses, banks, a good supermarket and a private hospital for emergencies.
For excellent photographic opportunities of the human kind, position yourself near the communal water tap in the late afternoon. The women and children streaming to this location to fill their containers for the night is a choice sight. The kids love to pose for photographs, and both adults and children will squeal with delight when viewing their images on your screen. Cyclists and pedestrians return from their daytime jobs, cars return with supplies from town, and cattle come in to settle for the night. If you have a ball available, an impromptu game of soccer will get the circulation going.
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