York's Shona Gallery
The
Blog
Stories of the artists and peoples behind the work: the sculptors, tribes, and traditions that have shaped our collection.
November 9, 2025Artist ProfileZimbabwe
Richard Mteki
Richard Mteki was born in 1947 in Harare, Zimbabwe, the younger brother of the celebrated sculptor Boira Mteki. Growing up in proximity to one of the country's great artists planted...
May 24, 2025Artist ProfileZimbabwe
Ngoni Chandigwa
Ngoni Chandigwa was born in 1968 near Mutare, in Zimbabwe’s eastern highlands, a landscape of granite ridges and mist-laden valleys that has long nurtured the country’s stone-carving tradition. He be...
December 28, 2017Tribe ProfileSouthern Africa
The Shona Tribe
The Shona are the largest indigenous group in Zimbabwe, comprising roughly 80 percent of the country's population and divided into five principal clans: the Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, Manyika, and Nda...