TAFADZWA TEGA

(b.1985 Harare, Zimbabwe)

Tafadzwa Tega was born in Harare and studied art at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. In 2008, Tega moved to South Africa, later joining Good Hope Art Studio. Tega has participated in several group exhibitions and has presented solo exhibitions in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa as well as Lausanne, Switzerland. His works are found in several prominent private collections, including the Leridon Collection, the Spier Arts Trust, Nando’s and the University of Cape Town. Tega is currently based in Cape Town.

Tega’s work speaks to the struggles, dreams and triumphant moments of the people of Zimbabwe. Political and economic stability over several decades has forced many Zimbabweans to emigrate, with the artist and  his relatives themselves being victims of this forced migration. Finding themselves in foreign countries – and, often, subjected to poor working and living conditions – Zimbabweans learn how to make ends meet while, and at the same time, to not forgo ambition. These opposing currents – joy and desire on the one hand; exploitation and alienation on the other – often come to be represented in photographs. In these photographs, people dress their best; they choose glamorous settings for backgrounds; they pose. Tega’s paintings are based on these photographs, conveying citizens’ resilience and determination to live (or, at least, to project) a better life.

EDUCATION

2008 Diploma in Fine Art, National Gallery of Zimbabwe

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026     Fortune Favours the Brave, Everard Read Franschhoek, South Africa

2025     Matakadya Kare, Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa

    Mabahambe, immo Scognamiglio, Milan, Italy

2023 Chisi hachieri musi wacharimwa (A seed will take its time to grow), Everard Read, Johannesburg; Aardklop National Arts Festival, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Exodus, Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Milan, Italy

Future Fair, with Martin Projects, New York, USA

2022 Rwendo (Journey), JD Malat Gallery (in collaboration with Africa First), London, UK

Zumbani, Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Milan, Italy

2021 Harare Dream, Foreign Agent, Lausanne, Switzerland

2020 Mwana Whevu (Son of the Soil), Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa

2019 Africa Without Borders, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, South Africa

2014 Africa Without Borders, World Art, Cape Town, South Africa

2012 Adolf Tega, AVA Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa

2025 EXPO CHICAGO, with Everard Read, Chicago, USA

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

10 Years | Summer Show, Everard Read, London, UK

Rwendo Rwechokwadi, Christopher Moller, Cape Town, South Africa

Africa Rising: Highlights from the Africa First Collection, ACEL, Seoul, Korea

2024 Inner Sanctum, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

Winter Collection, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Artefiera Bologna, Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido,  Bologna, Italy

EXPO CHICAGO, with Everard Read, Chicago, USA

2023 miart Fair, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Milan, Italy

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Cape Town, South Africa

FNB Art Joburg, with Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

The Other’s Warmth, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

Contemporary Figuration: Between Body & Metaphor, JD Malat Gallery, London, UK

2022 Art Miami, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Miami, USA

Volta Fair, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Basel, Switzerland

So Far So Good, Mimmo Scognamiglio, Milan, Italy

Dallas Art Fair, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Dallas, USA

2021 A Very Loop Street Summer, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

8x8, Ebony/Curated, Cape Town, South Africa

Art Miami, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Miami USA

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Ebony/Curated, Cape Town, South Africa

Dallas Art Fair, with Mimmo Scognamiglio / Placido, Dallas, USA

Open City: Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt, FNB Art Joburg, South Africa

Foreign Agent, 1-54 London, UK

2020 Summer Show, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, South Africa

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, South Africa

2019 #Recess, Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa

Urban Archaeology, Daor Contemporary, Cape Town, South Africa

Nando’s Creative Exchange, AVA Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

FNB Art Joburg, with Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa

COLLECTIONS