Helen Teede was born in Zimbabwe and currently lives and works in Harare. She is a graduate of Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town, South Africa.

Teede is deeply conscious of the painful and conflicted history of race relations in Zimbabwe. Through her work, she acknowledges that reconciliation and integration are yet to be fully realised.

Teede has taken her love for the land as a defining Zimbabwean characteristic that transcends race, gender, and political lines, using it as a starting point from which to build a vision that can be shared by all. Teede researches her work from the ground up, quite literally, by going on extensive hiking and camping expeditions that involve archaeological digs, embedding her work in the land and its history. Her work contours the narratives of these journeys, which are both poetic and aspirational. They speak empathetically to a shared humanity and commitment to be of a place and of time, making possible the prospect of genuine reconciliation.

Exhibitions include Dialoghi Muti  at Cure D’Arte in Florence (Italy: 2008); We Grow Accustomed to the Dark  at Amanzi Contemporary in Harare (Zimbabwe: 2015); It is the Without  at First Floor Gallery, Harare (Zimbabwe: 2016); and Unhomed  at Showcase Gallery in Dubai (United Arab Emirates: 2017).

Helen Teede’s works are featured in the Zeitz MOCAA exhibition, Five Bhobh – Painting at the End of an Era (2018 – 2019).