artweb POWER 100 Zimbawe (2025)

The 2025 artweb Power 100 Zimbabwe is an annual list recognising the individuals, institutions, and platforms shaping Zimbabwe’s contemporary art ecosystem. The 2025 edition arrives at a moment of recalibration, when visibility alone is no longer the primary measure of influence, and when clarity, structure, and intention have become the true currencies of cultural power.

More than a just a list, the artweb Power 100 Zimbabwe examines how influence actually functions. It traces how art and ideas circulate, how communities are built, how markets form, and how narratives are sustained over time. This list captures a year in which Zimbabwe’s art ecosystem did not grow louder, but grew more precise. From artists and collectives producing work of depth and urgency, to curators, gallerists, and institutional leaders who shape context and direction, it acknowledges those who fund and enable cultural production, as well as the writers, editors, thinkers, and platforms whose labour constructs meaning, memory, and continuity. Influence in 2025 was not defined by proximity to spectacle, but by the ability to build infrastructure, be it conceptual, relational, and material.

2025 was a pivotal year. As global markets slowed and institutional caution increased, Zimbabwe’s art ecosystem revealed its resilience through adaptability. Independent platforms strengthened. Patronage matured. Local market structures began to take form. International recognition, from Venice to CIMAM, did not arrive as isolated triumphs, but as signals of long-term investment in narrative sovereignty and institutional capacity.

Art does not exist in isolation. Its power is relational, contextual, and measured by its ability to move beyond insularity.

POWER 100 Zimbabwe

1. Portia Zvavahera 

2. Moffat Takadiwa 

3. Raphael Chikukwa 

4. Troy Makaza

5. Kudzanai Violet Hwami 

6. Tsitsi Masiyiwa (Higher Life Foundation)

7. artHARARE

8. Mbare Art Space 

9. Animal Farm

10. National Gallery of Zimbabwe

11. Fadzai Muchemwa

12. Tandazani Dhlakama

13. Gresham Tapiwa Nyahude

14. Virginia Chihota

15. Admire Kamudzengerere 

16. Tawanda Takura

17. Valerie Kabov

18. Wallen Mapondera 

19. Georgina Maxim

20. Misheck Masamvu

21. Mostaff Muchawaya

22. Dan Halter

23. Kreshia Mukwazhi

24. Gareth Nyandoro

25. Terence Musekiwa

26. Tafadzwa Gwetai

27. Wycliff Mundopa

28. Franklyn Dzingai

29. Tafadzwa Tega

30. Gideon Gomo

31. Duncan Wylie

32. Xanthe Somers

33. Olly French

34. Laura Ganda

35. Chiko Chazunguza

36. Pardon Mapondera,

37. Tatenda Chidora

38. Amanda Mushate

39. Anne-Zanele Mutema

40. Evans Tinashe Mutenga

41. Ronald Muchatuta

42. Tamary Kudita

43. Fungai Marima

44. Lin Barrie

45. Raymond Fuyana

46. Village Unhu Collective

47. Richard Witikani

48. Nyasha Jeche

49. Tanaka Mazivanhanga

50. Mike Tigere Mavura

51. Lovemore Kambudzi

52. Mukudzei Muzondo

53. Kudakwashe Mangoma (Baskwa)

54. Tinotenda Mushore

55. David Chinyama

56. Valerie Sibanda

57. Chenesai Mangoma

58. Nyasha Marovatsanga

59. Mercy Moyo

60. Isheanesu Dondo

61. Wilfred Timire

62. George Masarira

63. Cliford Zulu

64. Calvin Dondo

65. Nothando Chiwanga

66. Prudence Chimutuwah

67. Merilyn Mushakwe

68. Nyadzombe Nyampenza

69. Kuda Rice

70. Lennox Makurumidze

71. Greg Shaw

72. Peggy Mapondera

73. Gillian Rosselli

74. Richie Madyira

75. Kufa Makwavarara

76. Calvin Chimutuwah

77. Tapfuma Gutsa

78. Tinotenda Gusha

79. Dr Maraire

80. Linnet Panashe Rubaya

81. Nontsi Mutiti

82. Anusa Salanje

83. Akudzwe Chiwa

84. Tendai Makaya

85. Takura Chadoka

86. Munyaradzi Mugorosa

87. Clive Mukucha

88. Epheas Maposa,

89. Crispen Matekenya

90. Johnson Mugabe

91. Lilian Magodi

92. Johnson Zuze

93. Ngonidzashe Tsiga

94. Peter Kaunda

95. Cosmas Shiridzinomwa

96. Kenmore Maruta

97. Chido Johnson

98. Tongesai Machiri

99. Tendai Nyandoro

100. Tanaka Dzuda

Ultimately, the artweb Power 100 Zimbabwe 2025 is a record of a clarity year. A lens through which we understand how Zimbabwean art is positioning itself - locally, continentally, and globally. As the ecosystem looks toward 2026, this edition stands as both documentation and declaration: that influence today is built slowly, stewarded carefully, and sustained through depth.

Disclaimer

The artweb Power 100 Zimbabwe 2025 list is the result of independent research conducted in consultation with a broad range of professional stakeholders within the Zimbabwean art ecosystem. The list is compiled through a structured research process and reflects collective professional assessments based on demonstrated impact, activity, and influence during the review period. All selections are made independently and are grounded in informed judgment, and the perspectives of experienced decision-makers within the field.

The artweb Power 100 does not function as a popularity ranking, commercial endorsement, or promotional listing. It is an editorial project committed to documentation, accountability, and cultural record-keeping. A comprehensive analytical report contextualising the 2025 list, including market analysis, institutional developments, and sector insights will be published in January 2026.