Venassa was born in 1959 and is the eldest in a family of eight children. His mother still lives in Mozambique but his father, also a stone carver, is in Zimbabwe. Venassa worked as a builder up until 1991. He was exposed to art when he built a house for an artist. Intrigued, Venasssa asked the artist to show him how he produced his work. This was when Venassa discovered his artistic talent and marked the beginning of his life as an artist. Venassa is married with six children.
