Celestino Mukavhi (27 September 1972 – 12 June 2022) was a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. A native of the

Bikita Bikita is a district in Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe. It borders with Gutu District, Zaka District, Chipinge District, Chiredzi District, and Buhera District . It is located about east of Masvingo town. Its administration is at Nyika Growth ...

area of

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

Province, Mukavhi was the last-born in a family of nine. His parents were

subsistence farmer Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

s with little education. In 1975, his mother was killed in

crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

during the war for liberation. Mukavhi grew up on communal lands, leaving school in 1987 to begin work as a farmer. In 1989, his father was murdered, and he was forced to move to

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

in search of work. Homeless for a time, he was sleeping near the road to Chapungu when he was discovered by Boira Mteki, who invited him to study the art of stonecarving. Mukavhi did, assisting him for six months. He also worked with Agnes Nyanhongo, Arthur Fata, Cosmas Muchenje, and Garrison Machinjili. His work won recognition at the 1992 Zimbabwe Roots exhibition; in 1993, he became an

artist in residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

at the

Chapungu Sculpture Park The Chapungu Sculpture Park is a renowned cultural landmark and sculpture park, sculpture garden in Msasa, Harare, Zimbabwe, which displays the work of Zimbabwean stone sculptors. Spanning over 15 acres of landscaped gardens, the park is dedicat ...

. Mukavhi was based in Zimbabwe and continued to sculpt throughout his life. He valued family and was a peace-loving man — themes that were often reflected in his sculpture. He also traveled to Germany from time to time, where there was a market for his work.

References

Biographical sketch
1972 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Zimbabwean sculptors 21st-century Zimbabwean sculptors {{Zimbabwe-sculptor-stub