Kenneth Laisi

Kenneth Laisi (b. March 17, 1971) is a Malawi-born Zimbabwean sculptor.

The eldest grandchild of grandparents who wove baskets and made clay pots, Laisi was born in the Thyolo district. He migrated to Rhodesia in 1975 with his parents. He completed his primary schooling in 1984; during his fifth year of school he discovered that he had inherited some of his
grandparents' talents. In his final year he became a member of the school's art club, and led it to victory in the year's interscholastic art festival.

While at secondary school in 1985 Laisi met Tapfuma Gutsa, who lived nearby, and who invited him to come and learn stonecarving. During weekends and school holidays Laisi would help the older artist by sandpapering his finished sculptures, for which he was paid a few coins each time. He sold one of his first stone pieces to a Dutch collector in 1988.

After leaving school, Laisi was encouraged by Gutsa, Dominic Benhura, and others to continue sculpting. He showed and sold work at the Chapungu Sculpture Park and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. From 1996 he worked for a time at Chapungu, meeting artists such as Eddie Masaya, Cosmas Muchenje, Gerald Takawira, and Joseph Mazondo. He left the park to work on his own in December, 1998.

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