Valente Malangatana Ngwenya, 1936–2011

Mozambique’s most celebrated visual artist, the charismatic Malangatana Ngwenya was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 1997.

Born in 1936 in Matalana village, southern Mozambique, Malangatana spent his early years attending mission schools and helping his mother farm. At age 12 he moved to Maputo (then Lourenço Marques) to find work, eventually becoming a ball boy at a tennis club. This allowed him to resume his education at night, and it was during this period that his artistic talent was first recognized. Tennis club member Augusto Cabral supported him with materials and helped him sell his early works.

In 1958 he joined activities at the artists’ organization Núcleo de Arte, receiving guidance from painter Zé Júlio. His work was first publicly exhibited in 1959, and by age 25 he held his first solo exhibition. His poetry appeared in *Black Orpheus* and in the anthology *Modern Poetry from Africa*. In 1964 he was detained by the Portuguese secret police (PIDE) and spent 18 months in jail. Later, a Gulbenkian Foundation grant enabled him to study engraving and ceramics. From 1981 onward, Malangatana worked full-time as an artist.

Among his many honors, Malangatana received the Nachingwea Medal for his contribution to Mozambican culture and was named *Grande Oficial da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique*. He exhibited widely across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and his works are held in collections in Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Portugal. He also created major public artworks, including murals for FRELIMO and UNESCO.

Malangatana’s art expresses a bold, visionary world where human, animal, and plant life coexist in a symbolic, often spiritual continuum. Drawing on indigenous heritage while engaging with modernity, his work merges art and politics. When presenting the UNESCO award, Director-General Federico Mayor described him as “much more than a creator, much more than an artist — someone who demonstrates that there is a universal language, the language of art, which allows us to communicate a message of peace, of refusal of war.”

source: “Contemporary Africa Database”