By Panashe Karidzagundi.
A Fifteen-year-old Tatenda Zvenyika, a Form Three Art 1 learner at St Joseph Secondary School, has been crowned the winner of the 2026 DASSAF art competition.
The competitions were held at the st Joseph Secondary school on Friday this week.
Zvenyika, who has been drawing and painting since Grade Five, said she was excited after emerging as the top artist in the competition which included Eight plus Beitbridge Secondary and High Schools.
“I am feeling very excited. I have always loved painting animals because they represent our totems and cultural identity. My dream is for my paintings to one day reach the whole world,” she said.
Zvenyika credited her former class teacher, Mrs E. Dube of Birchenough Bridge, for inspiring her to pursue art from a young age.
Her winning artwork featured a zebra, which she said it symbolises the importance of respecting Zimbabwe’s wildlife while celebrating the country’s rich cultural heritage.
“This is a zebra, one of our wild animals. It is also a totem for some families, including the Samaita clan. The zebra has only two colours, black and white, and no horns. There are many clans associated with the zebra, such as the Manjenjenje and Tembo families. Whenever people hear these surnames, they should remember and respect the wild animals that represent their totems,” she explained.
To create the award-winning painting, Zvenyika used painting markers together with black and white colours to bring the zebra to life.
The young artist hopes her success at the DASSAF competition will inspire other learners to embrace art while preserving Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage through creative expression and she said she is ready for the PASSAF.