Tengenenge is an art community at the foot of the Great Dyke in the north of Zimbabwe, near the town of Guruve. Its name, drawn from the local language, is often translated as “the beginning of the beginning.” Founded in 1966, it sits on land rich in serpentine stone, ideal for carving.
Tengenenge became one of the most influential art movements to emerge from Africa in the twentieth century. The community attracted artists from across the region — Zimbabwean, Malawian, Zambian, Angolan, Mozambican — and grew into an open-air gallery where work was made, exhibited and sold on the spot.
The early talents included Thomas Mukarobgwa, Bernard Matemera, Henry Munyaradzi, Sylvester Mubayi, Joseph Ndandarika, Bernard and John Takawira, and Fanizani Akuda. Encouraged by Frank McEwen of the Rhodes National Gallery (today the National Gallery of Zimbabwe), their work travelled to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and to galleries across Europe.
Blomefield directed the community until 2007, when he was succeeded by Dominic Benhura. Tengenenge is still working today, with new generations carving alongside surviving founders.