About Me

Charmaine Chitate is a documentary photographer based in Zimbabwe. Her work is an exploration of identity in the context of climate change, food security, health, and livelihoods.

BIOGRAPHY

Charmaine Chitate is a documentary photographer based in Zimbabwe. Her work explores identity in the context of climate change, food security, health, and livelihoods.

Over a career spanning 18 years as a Communications & Multimedia Specialist and 16 years as a photographer, she has built a diverse body of written and visual work. Starting off her career in the Children’s Performing Arts Workshop (CHIPAWO), her interest in the arts was nurtured into taking on production and post-production services mentored by Marian Kunonga, Ben Mahaka, Richard 'Rick' Smith, and Brighton Tazarurwa.

In 2013, a TV series, directed by Rumbi Katedza, for which she was an assistant editor, was nominated for Best Series at FEPASCO (The Pan-Africa Film Festival of Ougadougou). In 2015, she joined Initiatives of Change (Caux Palace, Switzerland) as a volunteer and started learning about shifting narratives. In 2018, Charmaine was a part of the ‘Lost and Found: Resilience, Uncertainty, Expectation, Excitement, & Hope’ exhibition hosted by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, which later toured their Bulawayo gallery.

Following this exhibition, she became one of two members of the Zimbabwe Association of Female Photographers (ZAFP) selected to exhibit at the 2018 FNB Joburg Art Fair. At the Fair, Charmaine was voted in as one of the Top 20 contemporary African artists who have ‘the potential to shape and inspire the global art scene—both now and into the future.’ In 2019, Charmaine’s project, ‘I Am A Woman Defined/Stories About Her’ was shortlisted as one of the Top 6 projects in the Virtual Reality Category—overall, the Top 30 across 5 categories by Digital Lab Africa.

In 2020, Ms. Chitate was selected as one of fifty winners of Africalia’s 'Creativity is Life' COVID-19 relief grant for artists for the project 'Whispering Silence,' which incorporated a component of augmented reality. Through this project, Charmaine became a member of the Academy for International Extended Reality (AIXR) as a member and international judge in 2021 for the Social Impact category. She has held her position on the judging panel of Arts and Media Advisor for four years (2024).

In 2021, following a peer review of ‘Whispering Silence’, Chitate received a grant from Pro Helvetia to begin ‘Whispering Silence VR.’ In 2023, Shutterstock launched The Create Fund Grant, which was aimed at increasing diversity in their visual library. Charmaine was selected as the first Zimbabwean to receive the grant, proposing an alternative look at Zimbabwe beyond its politics and into the day-to-day lives of its people with a view to creating locally and globally relatable images with financial returns.

In 2024, Chitate joined the Market Photo Workshop as part of the ‘Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism Workshop’ held in Johannesburg. At MPW, she had the opportunity to learn from established photographers like Daylin Paul, Dr. Kholeka Shange, Leon Sadiki, Prof. Shepherd Mpofu, Ala Kheir, Sodiq Adelakun Adekola, and Thandile Zwelibanzi. This was followed by a three-month training in Narrative and Documentary Photography under the mentorship of Finbarr O’Reilly. 

PUBLICATIONS, EXHIBITIONS, AWARDS/SHORTLISTS 

 

 

© 2025. Charmaine Chitate (Documentary Photographer & Communications Specialist).  All Rights Reserved.