The Lechwe Trust is a charitable trust which supports Zambian artists and maintains a collection of Zambian art.[1] It was established in 1986 by the artist and philanthropist Cynthia Zukas, the artist Henry Tayali and the ceramist Bente Lorenz.[2] [3]
Though the Lechwe Collection originally had no permanent gallery, curated exhibitions were periodically held in various venues. The collection was exhibited in 2000, and again in 2005.[1] For the 2005 exhibition, held at the Lusaka National Museum, William Miko selected 65 artists from the Lechwe Trust Collection.[4] By 2009 the Collection included over 200 works, and a 2009 catalog profiled the work of 72 artists.[5]
The 2009 exhibition Art Lives On, held at the Henry Tayali Gallery, featured work by deceased artists Stephen Kapata, Friday Tembo, Martin Phiri, Shadrick Simukanga, Trevor Noah and Godfrey Setti. A decade later, the 2019 exhibition Art Lives on II featured the work of Flinto Chandia (died 2017) and Lutanda Mwamba (died 2014).[6]
Since 2018 the trust has operated an art gallery. The Lechwe Trust Art Gallery is now located on Lagos Road in Lusaka.
Over a hundred artists are represented in the Lechwe Trust Collection, including:[7]