Masimba Hwati studied at the Harare Polytechnic in Harare, Zimbabwe from 2001 to 2003, where he majored in ceramics and painting. Investigating the transformation and evolution of knowledge systems that are indigenous to his own background, Hwati explores the symbolic connotations of cultural objects. His processes involve melding together historical and cultural artifacts and adapting them for contemporary urban contexts.

Hwati presented his first solo exhibition Facsimiles of Energy at Galerie Delta in Harare, in 2011 and thereafter has shown at several key exhibitions locally and internationally including the Harare Biennale in Harare, in 2005. In 2006 he won the National Art Merit Award, the highest individual art honour in Zimbabwe. Other awards include a Gallery Delta Award for Multimedia (category: Tradition, Family and Religion) in 2012, sponsored by the European Union. Hwati was included in the group exhibition Trek: Following Journeys at SMAC Art Gallery in Cape Town, in 2015, and his portrait series Urban Totems is included in the Zimbabwean Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy.