Haji Chilonga

Haji Chilonga was born on January 24th, 1969 at Lukuledi in south Tanzania. He comes from the pottery and blacksmiths family background.  As he was interested in drawings he earned his money from painting commercial advertisements.

He became a serious painter in the year of 1992 when he was tutored by more experienced artists. He underwent artistic training in Dar es Salaam (1999) and at the Salzburg International Summer Academy, Austria (2007).

Chilonga’s first exhibition took place in 1995 at Bamayu Gallery in Tanzania. Since then he has exhibited his work in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, USA and Canada.