Coming from a family of blacksmiths and potters from South East Tanzania, visual expression and the application of human creativity were talents that ran through the family. Chilonga was a very inquisitive and very active child; he was a runner, played football and loved acting and drama. At first, he pursued football seriously then soon realised that with a profession in football there is an expiry date; the older you get, the less opportunities you have. However, with art, it is a craft that matures with time. Therefore, he chose art.

Chilonga’s talent was discovered during Primary School. After completion of primary education, he embarked on a journey to Dar es Salaam to expose himself to the world of the arts. During the late 80’s he was focused on signwriting and billboards. Chilonga admired David Shepard, a wildlife painter so his journey started off focusing on wildlife painting. Ambitious as Chilonga was in becoming a well-known international artist, he was not satisfied and wanted to find his own style that he could identify with. He made time to do a bit of still-life painting, sculpting but eventually found his signature in abstract work. Furthermore, he understood the importance of continuous learning from such a young age and remembered the importance of practice. He further developed his skills by taking part in many local and international fine art workshops and was admitted twice to the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in 2007 and 2014 in Austria. Some of his works have been permanently displayed at Tanzania State House since 2004.

Using art to fully express himself is what makes Chilonga happy; it is like food for his soul. Art is life. Without art, there is no secret that the world would not be as it is. Chilonga believes that art is required in every aspect of life. For example, the roads we drive on were sketched by architects and the clothes we wear were designed by artists.

Other than art, Chilonga still enjoys playing football. He also loves music, especially playing tunes on his guitar. He can honestly say that art has paid off for him. His craft has allowed him to achieve several milestones in his life such as building his own home, buying a farm, building his mother a home and even paying for his children’s education from start to completion. As successful as Chilonga is, he still has dreams he would like to manifest. He hopes that someday his work would be prominent and popular beyond the African continent, featured in books and movies.