Celestino Mukavhi (born September 27, 1972) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

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 the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. It borders with Gutu District, Zaka District, Chipinge District, Chiredzi District, Buhera District and Mwenezi District. It is located about east of Masvingo. Its administration is at ...

area of

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, th ...

province, Masvingo was last-born in a family of nine. His parents were

subsistence farmer Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

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. Mukhavi 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 and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

in search of better 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. Masvingo did, assisting him for six months. He has also worked with Agnes Nyanhong, 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, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the

Chapungu Sculpture Park The Chapungu Sculpture Park is a sculpture park in Msasa, Harare, Zimbabwe, which displays the work of Zimbabwean stone sculptors. It was founded in 1970 by Roy Guthrie, who was instrumental in promoting the work of its sculptors worldwide. One ...

. He is currently based in Zimbabwe and he continues to make master piece after master piece. Mukavhi likes family and is a peace loving man. These are themes one would find in his sculpture works. He travels to German from time to time where there is a market for his sculptors.

References

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