13 Facts About Celia Winter-Irving

Celia Winter-Irving, was an Australian-born, Zimbabwean-based artist and art critic who wrote extensively on Zimbabwean art, especially Shona sculpture, when she lived in Harare from 1987 to 2008.

Celia Winter-Irving was born in Melbourne, the only child of William and Audrey Winter-Irving, and grew up at their farm called Gundamian, near Echuca.

Celia Winter-Irving wrote about sculpture and art for magazines such as Craft International, Art Network and Arts Queensland.

When, in 1986, the British art journal Studio International commissioned an article on Shona sculpture, Celia Winter-Irving visited Zimbabwe to do research and stayed at the Tengenenge Sculpture Community.

Celia Winter-Irving was so impressed with what she saw that she moved to live permanently in Harare and decided to write a book about the sculpture of Zimbabwe.

Celia Winter-Irving was employed by the Chapungu Sculpture Park, as a research fellow of the Southern African Political and Economic Series and most importantly by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, where she was an Honorary Research Fellow and later curator.

In 2007, Celia Winter-Irving was appointed researcher and writer at the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, where she had helped develop the annual National Merit Awards for artists in the country.

Celia Winter-Irving had been jurist on these awards on three occasions.

Celia Winter-Irving published an anthology of many of her articles in 2004 and achieved her ambition to write books about the sculptors and their works.

Celia Winter-Irving promoted the international reputation of the leading artists by writing introductions to exhibition catalogues, giving television and radio interviews and seeking funding from private and government sponsors.

Celia Winter-Irving maintained close contact with the Tengenenge Sculpture Community near Guruve, which she often visited and where she taught painting to the children of the sculptors who worked there.

Celia Winter-Irving wrote a children's book, Soottie the cat at Tengenenge, the story of a cat exploring the surrealist world of art and sculpture.

Celia Winter-Irving had the instincts of a journalist for pithy and insightful comments, combined with the dedication and patience to fully research what she wrote about.