Locardia Ndandarika (1945 – 2023)

Locardia Ndandarika was born in Bindura (northeast of Salisbury, now Harare), Zimbabwe. As a young girl, she learnt to make clay models of animals using traditional methods. In 1964, she married Joseph Ndandarika, one of the foremost stone sculptors of Zimbabwe. Their marriage lasted for 14 years before divorce in 1978, and during this period Locardia became an accomplished sculptor, despite Joseph’s efforts to dissuade her. Seven of her sculptures were included in the seminal exhibition ‘Sculpture Contemporaine des Shonas d’Afrique’ at the Musée Rodin, Paris, France in 1971.

In 1986, she joined the workshop at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe to develop her artistic career. She was invited to work at Chapungu Sculpture Centre, the most prestigious gallery and sculpture community in Zimbabwe. Her sculptures have been shown regularly since then in the annual Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibitions and at numerous local and international galleries.

Locardia maintained her position as one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent female artists. In 1990 she was invited to the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and her sculpture is still on public display there. She has exhibited and held workshops in the United States, Holland, South Africa and New Zealand since 1997.

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