Tinashe Hwindingwi

Biography

Tinashe Hwindingwi is a Harare-based independent archivist, researcher, and curatorial practitioner whose work explores archives, exhibition histories, and decolonial approaches to cultural heritage. He holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Graphic Design) from Deakin University, Australia, a Diploma in Digital Media from Media Design School, Auckland, and a Diploma in Photography from the Zimbabwe Institute of Photography and Cinematography. His institutional experience includes serving as Senior Graphic Designer at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (2013–2014), where he contributed to exhibition design and publications.

In 2020, Hwindingwi founded Abantu Archives, an independent archival platform that now holds more than 1,000 items, including periodicals, institutional publications, photographic records, and art documentation related to Zimbabwean and regional contemporary art, colonial history, and Indigenous knowledge systems. The archive functions as both a research resource and a curatorial platform, providing digitization, rights management, and research support for academic and curatorial projects.

His current research examines the construction of colonial memory through exhibition-making. Commissioned by Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, he is conducting primary-source research at the National Archives of Zimbabwe to reconstruct the curatorial framework of the 1953 Rhodes Centenary Exhibition, investigating the narratives it advanced, omitted, and legitimized.

As Project Lead of the MCH Living Archive within the Mapping Colonial History network, Hwindingwi is developing a transnational archival and exhibition platform connecting institutions in Zimbabwe and Europe. His work encompasses exhibition development, publications, governance frameworks, and international funding initiatives, including proposals to UNESCO's International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) and the EU's Spaces of Culture programme.

Through his practice, Hwindingwi investigates how independent archives and curatorial initiatives can challenge dominant historical narratives, expand access to cultural knowledge, and contribute to more inclusive understandings of the past.

Tinashe Hwindingwi, Director at Abantu Archives in Harare, Zimbabwe, has been awarded by Simon & Catriona Mordant (Australia / Italy).