Zanoxolo (Sylvester) Mqeku was born in Mount Fletcher, a small town on the edges of the Eastern Cape. Mqeku began his tertiary education at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, studying for a foundation certificate in art, but moving on to study Architectural Technology the following year.
After two years of architectural design experience, Mqeku discontinued and went back to The School of Art and Design at NMMU. In 2009, he completed two years of introductory art and design studies. His qualification comprised of Painting, Graphic Design, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramic Design, Drawing and Art Theory.
Mqeku was enrolled at the Tshwane University of Technology in 2016 and completed a B-Tech in Fine Art. He is currently busy with his Masters degree at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein with emphasis to develop research into the innovative studio practice of sand cast ceramics.
Between February and March 2019, Mqeku participated in the Vallauris artist in residence, an exclusive ceramic artist residency in the historical city Vallauris in the south of France. From June 2020, Mqeku will spend six months completing two artist residencies, one at the YZ Creative Art Center in Jinzhong China and another in Taiwan and Yingge Ceramics Museum.