Our #WCW is Molly ‘Maureen Phiri’ Winckelmans, a Belgian-Zimbabwean painter who resides in the countryside community situated in Bornem, near Antwerp, Belgium. After a immense struggle against the prejudices of studying art within her own family, her efforts paid off by receiving a scholarship from the prestigious National art Gallery of Zimbabwe. Her talent, hard work and continuous perseverance were very much appreciated by her teachers and the Art director of the Gallery. She was the only female student of her class who finished the complete training course in 1994.

Strongly inspired by the world famous Zimbabwean Sculptors as John Takawira, Colleen Madamombe, Nicolas Mukombe , Henry Munyara she is committed to stay faithful to her cultural heritage. She doesn’t compromise on her very modern, contemporary ‘abstract-figurative’ style. Because of this consistent approach , her works are appreciated worldwide.
The message she wants to spread through her works is universal and destroys with ease all cultural barriers. Themes like female strength, struggle for emancipation but also motherhood are very present in most of her works.

Molly spend a big part of her life in Zambia , Botswana and Zimbabwe, moving easily between all the different populations of Southern Africa. Because of this experiences, she had no problem to adapt herself to the life in Belgium. In Bornem she is known as a hard working artist who brings an interesting vibe to the local cultural scene with a progressive and open approach towards art.

In Zimbabwe ,Molly was rewarded with 7 awards and two of her works were purchased by the Nation Art Gallery to shine in the permanent collection of the museum. After being recognised as one of the best female painters of Zimbabwe she managed to sell her works all over Southern Africa , Europe and America.