Cyrene Mission

Cyrene was founded in 1939 by Canon Edward Paterson, who taught art at the mission school and encouraged his pupils to paint biblical subjects in an African setting rather than copying European models. The chapel is the result: its walls, inside and out, are covered with murals painted by the students from the 1940s, showing scripture with African figures, landscapes and animals. The school still runs and the chapel is kept.

The main sights

• The chapel murals - biblical scenes painted by pupils in an African setting.
• The exterior painting - murals covering the outside walls as well as the inside.
• The Paterson school - the art teaching that produced a generation of painters.
• The working mission - a school still in operation around the chapel.

When to go

April to October is the dry season. Visits should be arranged with the school rather than dropped in on. Term time means the school is in session.

Practical notes

It is a working school and visits need arranging in advance. The murals have suffered from damp and age in places. There is no formal visitor provision.

Nearby

Bulawayo is east, and Khami Ruins are northeast.