Mary Kaundo
Mary was born in 1966. She was seven when her father was killed during Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle. She completed Form 1 (7th grade), having worked all during her schooling to earn income for the family. She has four sons, born between 1985 and 1995. She and her family moved from the rural area to Harare in 1995 so that she could be closer to the market for her art. The family relies solely on Mary’s income from her art.
Mary learned to paint in 1988 from Ilse Noy, doing sadza painting and boards. She does what she calls “cartoon style,” which she says resulted from her failure to learn what her teacher wanted. But she reports that Ilse told her, “This is art that I like!” In 2000, Mary won the Longman Award of Merit for a Young Artist of Promise at the Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibit at the National Gallery in Harare.
A Great Friendship
Wild Animals