Reinata Sadimba (Sadhimba) Passema, 1945

Reinata Sadimba was born in 1945 in the village of Nemu, Mozambique. The daughter of farmers, she first received a traditional Makonde education, which included learning to make utilitarian clay objects.

Although Makonde society attributes a central role to women, sculpture in Mozambique and Tanzania has long been considered a “man’s job.” For this reason, Reinata’s early artistic efforts were not taken seriously.

Everything changed in 1975, when she began a profound transformation of her ceramic practice. Her work — instantly recognizable for its **fantastic, surreal, and emotionally charged forms** — soon gained international acclaim. Today, Reinata Sadimba is considered one of the most important women artists on the African continent.

She has received numerous awards and exhibited widely in Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark, and beyond. Her sculptures are represented in major institutions, including the **National Museum of Mozambique**, the **Portuguese Ethnographic Museum**, and **Culturgest’s Modern Art Collection**, as well as in private collections around the world.

source: “Outras Plasticidades” (1999) – Instituto Camões; “Africa e Mediterraneo” Magazine (09/2002)