Tom Blomefield (95) one of the initiators and pioneering promoters of contemporary Zimbabwe Shona sculpture has died in Holland. Blomefield who founded Tengenenge Art Community at his farm in Guruve in 1966 died on Wednesday morning.
In a statement on facebook, his son Stephen Blomefield said his father will be sorely missed by tens of thousands of people whose family members learned art at Tengenenge and fed extended families. “Many of the thousands who learned sculpture are scattered throughout the world blessing others through their artworks. He lived a long, happy life serving his community and the nation of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Commenting on facebook one Ema Nomuhle Ndhlebe had this today, “He was a very nice and disciplined father who boosted the lives of many in Zim especially in the Guruve area. May his soul rest in peace. My uncle worked with him for several years and really uplifted the lives of many.
Contemporary Zimbabwean Shona stone sculpture was initiated by the likes of Joram Mariga, Frank McEwen, Canon Edward Patterson, Father John Groeber, and Tom Blomefield during the 1950’s.
Tom Blomefield had been a tobacco farmer in Guruve and founded Tengenge Art Community in 1966, after the economic sanctions on Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in order to give himself and his farm workers a more meaningful life and a way of earning an income.
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