It´s
always a great pleasure having a conversation with Nicholas Moyo. Not only
because of his sense of humour, but mainly because of his wisdom and
experience, his calm and balanced way of analyzing the realities around him,
his belief in a better future. In this post he writes about the proliferation
of arts festivals in Zimbabwe and the efforts of the National
Arts Council to create some guidelines in order to ensure that all arts festivals are held in
accordance with the country’s aspirations as far as the development of the
creative industries is concerned. mv
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| Intwasa Arts Festival (Photo taken from www.intwasa.org) |
The
establishment of Arts Festivals in Zimbabwe has been in the past decade the
in-thing for the exhibition of arts and culture products in the Southern
African country. As much as people can agree on what a festival is, in Zimbabwe
an arts-related festival is projected as a platform for the celebration of the
arts, where artistes and cultural practitioners come together for a specific
period to showcase their products in a carnivalesque and celebratory mood.
The above
definition holds because festivals are, in general, a time for celebration and
enjoyment. It is an event usually and ordinarily staged by communities focusing
on some unique aspects of that group of people. As far as the arts and culture
sector is concerned, each festival is moulded around a particular group of
people. These then make the nucleus of the market or audiences thereof.
Current
scenario
Within the
said period, Zimbabwe witnessed a proliferation of arts festivals, being hosted
country-wide. Admittedly, some of the these were established to deal with
issues related to human rights. Others were hosted by fly-by-night festival
organisers out to fleece funds from the ‘easy to appease’ donors. This scenario
resulted in the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe starting a consultation with
the sector, crafting some general guidelines for all arts festivals to be held in the country. The guidelines were
meant to ensure that all arts festivals
are held in tandem with the country’s aspirations as far as the development of
the creative industries is concerned.
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| Harare International Festival of the Arts (Photo taken from www.hifa.co.zw) |
Successes
Festivals
are in general a massive platform created for the establishment of a
transaction between audiences and the organisers through the trading of art.
Firstly, all festivals have been recording a steady increase of audiences every
year. There is a growing market and a new relationship between this market and
the creative sector. Audiences are beginning to exchange their time and
monetary resources for good art.
Secondly,
art creators have found it important and necessary to create new and exciting ‘good
art’, while producers, directors and artists have begun to up the game
because of the competitive nature of the creative industry. Festival organisers
are contracting new productions mostly from reputable producers, as these tend
to attract more people to specific productions.
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| Harare International Festival of the Arts (Photo taken from www.hifa.co.zw) |
Challenges
The
creative industries have had a fair share of market challenges. Top of the list
is failure to attract meaningful partnerships that will either render financial
support to the festival or underwrite even in kind some of its components. Some
festival organisers are not well skilled to scout and sign-in partners, leading
to failure to lock-in regular dates on the calendar. Thus, one tends to see festivals having to cancel dates they could only go ahead
with only if they could get a last-minute funder.
Sponsors,
especially from the corporate sector, have not been forthcoming generally for
the support of the arts. Festivals are not an exception. Some, like the Harare
International Festival for the Arts (HIFA), have created business synergies
with the Corporates. One is tempted to say that the economic challenges
Zimbabwe is facing as a nation have a bearing on the money circulating for the
purpose of entertainment. The disposable income of Zimbabwe’s workforce is
below the poverty line, and, therefore, this on its own has a global effect on
people´s buying or spending patterns.
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| Intwasa Arts Festival (Photo taken from www.intwasa.org) |
In
conclusion, festivals in Zimbabwe are a necessary good in the development of
the creative industries in the country. With the different thrust by different
festivals, it is evident that these are carefully designed to target particular
consumers for specific artistic products. However, the festivals need to be
re-engineered as business enterprises for the creative products. The growth of
festivals in Zimbabwe will also ensure that the arts are undoubtedly seen as a
contributor to the GDP of the Southern African country Zimbabwe.
Nicholas
Moyo is currently the Deputy Director at the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
He has substantial experience in arts management - as a director, producer and
administrator. He has also participated in various arts training programs and
short courses, including script writing, arts management, leadership,
directing, and fundraising. He has expertise in leadership, team building and
management, program management, project planning and management, financial
management, strategic planning and review. He founded the fast growing and
second largest multi-disciplinary festival in Zimbabwe, Intwasa Arts Festival
koBulawayo, and currently sits on the Board of Trustees. He is also a Board
Member of Tusanani Cover Trust, a welfare support organization for
underprivileged children. Nicholas Moyo was one of the consultants for the
first arts and culture festival of Zambia, the AMAKA Arts Festival, which took
place from 8 to 14 of October.
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