Chaka Chikodzi

‘Out of the City’ is back! This time at the beautiful Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning in Kingston. I started this project back in 2009, bringing together diverse teens bfor a week long arts camp centred around stone sculpting.

Throughout the week, students are introduced to cultural art forms such as marimba, drum and dance, printmaking and collage, by world class artist of colour facilitators. Funded by the City of Kingston Arts Fund, participation is free of charge and lunch and transportation are included.

If you know a teen age 14-18 who is looking for something unique to do this summer, be in touch and I will send you the registration link. Camp is July 15-19 and runs daily from 9-4.

Rockport Barn is located between Brockville and Gananoque and includes lush gardens, ponds and tranquil surroundings. And now, Chaka Chikodzi Art + Design. I will be on site all weekend to launch this exciting partnership. Hope to see some familiar faces.

This Black History Month, I am reflecting on the darkest days of winter and the dark happenings around the world. As always, suffering surrounds us, and we can feel helpless at the enormity of it all. Zimbabweans have seen so many dark days, but we refuse to let it stop us from having hope for a better future.

As a Zimbabwe-Canadian, I will never give up on my people. I will never give up hope that my daughters will be proud to call both Zimbabwe and Canada home. But I also know that it takes work to make that dream come true. That’s why Tawineyi Primary School project means so much to me.

I am excited to announce that we have formed a partnership with Education without Borders, a Canadian charitable organization that is working to improve educational opportunities in South Africa. Under their umbrella, we are able to offer charitable tax receipts to donors as well as assurance to donors that their donation is being overseen and governed by best practices.

If you’re like me, feeling at times overwhelmed by the darkness in this world, remember that darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. All of us can make a difference and no effort is too small. The sun is always shining in Zimbabwe.

A link to Education without Borders’ donation page is in my bio. When making a donation please ensure you include reference to ‘Tawineyi Primary School’. I am also donating 50% of my sales to the school during the month of February. A portion of your donation will also go towards supporting the amazing educational projects in South Africa that are being run by EwB.

I often talk about how my work is a collaboration with three stone itself. It is also a collaboration with the setting. Phantom Creek Estates is one of my finest collaborations yet. A truly stunning and elevating setting. I am here on site until Thursday to celebrate the opening of this exhibition. If you are in or around Oliver, British Columbia, this week come say hello. The show will be on display until September 4th.


“Continuum”
Opal stone
4’x15”

“In Song”
Opal stone
18”x9”

“Continuum 2”
Springstone
7’x16”

“Infinite”
Springstone
2.4’x 9”

“Portal”
Opal stone
2.5”x15”

“Calling Birds”
Springstone
2.5’x14”

It was a special rainy afternoon at No 9 Gardens today at the opening of WITH THE LAND // Cloud 9 Eco-Art Exhibition curated by Sunny Kerr and in collaboration with Agnes Etherington Art Centre. These works and their installation in this setting is an exploration of time, migration and the objects we leave behind. I invite audiences to imagine these pieces as future relics, as a way of reading the presence of our communities on these lands long after we are gone.

If you have some time this August, I highly recommend checking out the group exhibition and the incredible space that Andrew and Elizabeth are creating at No 9 Gardens.

It’s always nice to install a piece in the city my family calls home. I love the juxtaposition of Serpentine stone from Zimbabwe and the Limestone harvested here over a 150 years ago to build this house. Zimbabwe means ‘house of stone’ in my first language. The use of stone in both instances has a timelessness that I appreciate.

At the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair this weekend, I wanted to showcase a range of colours and tones. Cobalt purples, rose quartz, earthy serpentines. Each colour takes on a different feel depending on the environment and light.

Happy Mother’s day 💜

Getting Ready for the Artist Project Toronto today and am excited to share two interconnected pieces.

The first piece, “Lineage,” is 5 feet 9 inches tall and is Zimbabwean Springstone with a Kingston Limestone base. It is an exploration of intergenerational memory and geological time. We carry the stories of the generations before us in our bodies just like the stone carries its own geological history.

The second piece is a deep purple stone from Zimbabwe called Cobalt. It is 3 and a half feet tall and is as wide. I have titled it “Family Tree”.

The Artist Project runs April 13-16 at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. Hope to see you there.

Happiest Birthday to my baby girl today! Smart, fierce, independent, resilient, argumentative, wise beyond her years. A gift. We love you, Nan. Keep shining! 🌟

Happy Birthday to my lovely Wife💜

Winter show announcement! I will be at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario, from January 20 - February 5. The show will feature works by Karen Dover, Jack Stekelenburg, Jana Begovic, and Alesha Derkson. An opening reception will be held on the 20th from 4 - 7 with live music from the Bentley Collective. Hope to see you there!

My work will be on display this month, alongside prints by Lory MacDonald, in the beautiful gardens at the Art Powered Studio at 2 Townley Street in Nottawa, Ontario.

Opening reception September 24th. Drop-in between 10am - 6pm with live music by Brooke Blackburn & Friends, Chantal Wolf’s Painted Words poetry book launch, live readings and self-guided garden art tour.

A great day reconnecting with two pieces that found their permanent homes here in Kingston.

“People are people because of people” is part of the permanent collection at The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, thanks to a generous patron of the arts. The second now belongs to Alicia Boutillier, Chief Curator at the Agnes, and is pictured here with her partner Brent.

Special visitors yesterday at the Artist Project and lots of new connections. It’s been a good one! 💛

Opening day of the Artist Project in Toronto and I am feeling lucky to have my daughter Sekai assisting me. Come down to Exhibition Place between now and Sunday and say hello!

Really looking forward to participating in the Project in Toronto this week. The show starts tomorrow at 4pm and runs daily until Sunday. Booth 720.