Zimbabwe Influencers and Creatives You Should Know
Although it feels like sometimes we haven't firmly made our mark on the world as a country of creatives, Zimbabweans remain some of the most talented individuals on the planet. In 2021 particularly, Zimbabweans abroad excelled in countless crafts. Unfortunately, these achievements often go unnoticed, and it's not due to a lack of triumph on Zimbabwean creative's part but simply the reporting on them.
From Runway presentations at international fashion shows to growing YouTube channels with over a quarter of a million subscribers to Grammy Award nominations. Here's our list of some noteworthy Zimbabwe creatives abroad who had a great year in 2021:
Farie Zata
Farie Zata is a UK-based accountant with a passion for design that saw her competing in The Great British Sewing Bee (Series 7) in 2021. For 3 weeks in a row, she was the winner of the best garment & a fan favourite and she was eliminated in week 9 of the show, just missing out on making the top 3.
Tapiwa Guzha
Tapiwa Guzha is merging science & food with his own creativity. His Ph.D. in Molecular Biology made more than 600 inventive ice cream flavours, ranging from baobab to edible clay and bitter leaf. In a BBC News report last year, Guzha said that he wants Africans to be proud of their heritage, which is why he created these various ice cream flavours. Tapiwa says he wants Africans to celebrate their heritage through his ice cream bistro TAPI TAPI Desserts.
Munya Chawawa
Since the COVID lockdowns of 2020, Munya Chawawa has been a revelation and he continues to entertain with his hilarious skits. 2021 saw him earn a nomination at the UK National Comedy Awards and GRM Daily's Rated Awards while he also announced he would be featuring in his first TV show alongside Tom Allen and Jessica Knappett. The show titled Complaints Welcome is a Channel 4 comedy entertainment series airing TV viewers' views.
Ishmael Tsakatsa
Ishmael Tsakatsa and his high fashion label Zargue’sia debuted at Paris Fashion Week 2021 for a Spring Summer 2022 collection themed “Stones of Fire”. He made history by becoming the first Zimbabwean designer to debut at Paris Fashion Week.
Runyararo Mapfumo
Runyararo Mapfumo was a director on Netflix's Sex Education Season 3 alongside Ben Taylor. She had directing credits on episodes 4, 6, 7 and 8 of the latest season of Sex Education. Sex Education is a British comedy-drama streaming television series created by Laurie Nunn for Netflix. The series depicts the lives of the students, staff, and parents of the fictitious Moordale Secondary School as they contend with dilemmas in their personal lives, often related to sexual intimacy. It features an ensemble cast that includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Aimee Lou Wood, Tanya Reynolds, and Patricia Allison.
Tongayi Chirisa
Tongayi Chirisa featured in a regular role on Season 2 of the sci-fi series Another Life and Palm Springs a film he featured on was nominated for the Golden Globes while The Border, a short film he starred in too made a sweep of the Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge.
Kim Jayde
Kim Jayde starred in Hennessy x NBA's official Spirit of the NBA campaign and she also collaborated with several different South African and international brands. She also debuted the second season of her hit sneaker show, Kickin' It With Kim Jayde.
Zoe Ramushu
Director & producer Zoe Ramushu became the first Zimbabwean woman to make the finalists for the Student Academy Awards (Oscars) while she had also been shortlisted for The Student BAFTA Awards. Also at the end of the year her project alongside Reabetswe Moeti titled "Real Estate Sisters" received over $250,000 (USD) in Netflix funding.
Shungudzo
In 2021 Shungudzo Kuimba released her debut album "I'm not a Mother but I Have Children" which received rave reviews and she was a writer and producer on Angelique Kidjo's Grammy-nominated album "Mother Nature".
Thembi Mawema
Thembi Mawema made her live TV debut alongside Nick Cannon on his self-named show and alongside the actor, she was part of presenting the segment titled "Shading with the stars". Thembi also shined as the managing editor of The Shade Room. The Shade Room is an Entertainment site that is quickly becoming a well-known and respected brand. It has over 6.7 million followers across its social networks, and website hits surpassing 5 million a month, It is rapidly establishing its place in media. Its primary focus is celebrity gossip, trending news, and interesting/funny stuff.
Iwani Mawocha
In 2021 model and V-tuber Iwani Mawocha was on the runway for Samsung, Puma & Louis Vuitton along with other brands. She was also featured on the Vogue website for a campaign for Wearable and she was breaking new ground for Zimbabwean models out there in Singapore.
Regé-Jean Page
Actor Regé-Jean Page got to host "Saturday Night Live" and he was the first Zimbabwean to do so. He also won the Standout Performance Award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
Charmaine Bingwa
Charmaine Bingwa played a starring role in season 5 of The Good Fight which saw her quickly become a fan favourite and she was also cast in the Will Smith-led film "Emancipation".
Vee Kativhu
Vee Kativhu had a trailblazing year that centred around her education-based YouTube channel which has over a quarter of a million subscribers. The YouTuber also graduated from Harvard and she was named in GUAP magazine's Top 30 under 30 black creatives & professionals.
Awa Khiwe
Germany-based Awa Khiwe discovered phenomenal success with her track Ngeke Bangimele featuring Ghanian Stallion. She also graced the stage at international festivals like the Reeperbahn International Festival.
Elizabeth Nyamayaro
Elizabeth Nyamayaro is primarily a humanitarian, former senior advisor to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Executive Director for UN Women and the head HeForShe Movement. In 2021 she published a memoir titled "I am a girl from Africa" which was rated by Oprah Winfrey as one of the best books to read in April The year also saw her feature on The Daily Show and host discussions with the likes of Richard Branson.
Dakari
Dakarai "Dakari" Gwitira is a music producer, songwriter, audio engineer, and DJ. Dakari has earned several hit records as a producer, writer, and engineer, most notably for G-Eazy and in 2021 it was more of the same. He alternated between the roles of songwriter & producer for 8 tracks on G-Eazy's latest album These Things Happen Too. The album debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 and number 12 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with 19,400 album-equivalent units.
Tapiwa Dingwiza
Tapiwa Dingwiza is a bespoke tailor, textile designer and fashion lecturer. She was part of the team of British and Japanese Tailors who made the USA Olympic & Paralympic teams look fantastic in their opening and closing ceremony uniforms at Tokyo 2020 last year.