Agnes Nyanhongo


Agnes Nyanhongo is a Zimbabwean stone sculptor.

Early life and training

A native of Nyanga, Nyanhongo is the daughter of first-generation sculptor Claud Nyanhongo and sister of Gedion Nyanhongo. She spent much time helping in her father's studio as a girl and began sculpting full-time in 1980. In 1983, she entered the B.A.T. Workshop school at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare, where she spent three years.

Career

Stylistically, Nyanhongo's work is very similar to that of her father, and takes as its theme mainly female issues. Her sculptures are in the permanent collection of the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare, at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Englewood, Colorado, and at the exhibition Zimbabwe Sculpture: a Tradition in Stone at Hartsfield-Jackson [Atlanta International Airport].
The catalogue "Chapungu: Culture and Legend – A Culture in Stone" for the exhibition at Kew Gardens in 2000 depicts Nyanhongo's major works Divided Family on p. 32-33, Keeping the History on p. 108-109, Grandmother Fetches Water on p. 80-81 and her celebration of the Zimbabwean national heroine Mbuya Nehanda, Mbuya Nehanda - Spirit Medium on p. 78-79.
Nyanhongo was resident artist at Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare and her work is widely collected: Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou are among its known owners.

Selected exhibitions