A Premature Oral History of ‘Authors’

A group of eight friends unwittingly morphed into an art collective. They’re part of a cohort of young Zimbabweans reshaping the creative scene.

Painting of gilded armchairs in a living room.

A Laboured Home

For a moment, they sat in silence, slurping their teas. The liquid scalded their lips but set their insides alight.

Tanaka Chapfunga

WHEN WINTER CAME

smoke benign and heavy still, / enough to usher in an unfamiliar presence.

Rutendo Chichaya

How Tanaka Chiriga Turned a Ghost Story From Childhood Into a Chilling Horror Short

The Chimanimani camp ghost legend about the vengeful Mrs. Willow stuck with him. Decades later, he used it as the source material for a gripping film.

A Steady Disruption

I look out over the water and there is no shadow, and suddenly I am crying there on the sand, and it feels like pulling an arrow from my chest, the way it hurts, the way it wants to split apart and rest.

A painting of a landscape featuring a ruined castle and a map sitting alone.

Reconciling with Alienation

‘We careen towards an ever-elusive future, but the promise of becoming something more than we are today is the very thing that animates our day-to-day lives.’

‘I Hate Turning My Characters Into Objects of Pity’: Brian Chikwava on ‘Shamiso’

The ‘Harare North’ author talks his second novel, subverting notions of language and gender, and telling transnational stories with layered characters.

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One Good Read

A young boy and his boxing coach eat desserts in a restaurant.

‘There’s Joy Even When There’s Sadness’: Jessica Rowlands on Her History-Making Short Film ‘Rise’

The story of a tenacious young boy and the coach who mentors him premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

The cover of the record "Roots Rocking Zimbabwe."

The Genre-Bending Effervescence of ‘Township Music,’ 50 Years Later

A compilation record and an accompanying re-edition of Fred Zindi’s 1985 book, ‘Roots Rocking in Zimbabwe,’ have resurrected a thrilling era in the country’s music history beginning in 1975.

A man fishes on a boat while a duck swims by.

Kunyarara Kutaura

‘Munomuudza makobvu namatete, / kana ari mashoko hapana ramusina kumuudza, / asi iye wake muromo anongosona!’

Ushehwedu Kufakurinani

A watercolor illustration of the creation of Earth.

The Enchanting Worlds of African Folklore, Revived

Drawing largely from accounts by European researchers and missionaries, Helen Nde retells folktales from across the continent. Among them, a creation myth from the Makoni district.

People enjoy a musical performance of traditional Zimbabwean music.

The Pacific Northwest, Where Traditional Zimbabwean Music Reverberates

For nearly 35 years, marimba, mbira, ngoma and other instruments from the homeland have been the main attractions at Zimfest, a community gathering in the western United States.

Oil painting of a carafe, a glass, a wine bottle, butter and bread.

Three Is a Crowd

She queried if she had missed it in the way he had nonchalantly ordered vanilla ice cream despite her plea that chocolate pistachio was her favourite.

Rutendo Chichaya

Two arms forming a triangle against a black background.

Not Yours, Never Was. (FOR THE GIRL CHILD)

‘I buried your gaze / in the backyard with the other artefacts— / names you called me, / versions you preferred.’

The Pavilion of Zimbabwe at the 61st Venice Biennale

Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701

20 Apr 2026

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23 Nov 2026

Apr 2026

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More than a decade ago, Zimbabwe debuted its pavilion at the Venice Biennale, the illustrious international art and architecture exhibition, kickstarting a relationship that has continued to platform the creations of Zimbabwean artists under themes like “Dudziro” in 2013 and, most recently, “Undone.” This year’s theme, “Second Nature | Manyonga,” is an extension of curator Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa’s ethos of neuroplasticity, inviting five artists — Felix Shumba, Pardon Mapondera, Eva Raath, Gideon Gomo and Franklyn Dzingai — who work in media ranging from textiles to sculpture, to consider one of the central matters of our moment: technology and humanity.

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