The Zimbabwean sculptures, tucked along the garden’s paths, are beautiful in their simplicity, carved from a single stone that reveals its form as artists without a plan make their first cuts. Sculptors such as Passmore Mupindiko and Patrick Sephani, who will demonstrate their talents through the Dow Gardens run, tap into a fusion of their country’s cultural legacy and contemporary environment.

When Passmore Mupindiko’s grandfather taught him how to sculpt, an art that once captured the images of Zimbabwe’s tribal chiefs so that new generations would know what great men they were, the 7-year-old couldn’t imagine where his art would lead him.