All set for Nyanga Arts Festival this weekend

Arts Reporter

Organisers of the second edition of the Nyanga Arts Festival (NAF) have said preparations for the two-day fiesta are at an advanced stage, and expect it to be bigger compared to the previous edition.

The festival, which focuses on music, drama, and visual arts, begins on Friday and will see Dendera maestro Sulumani Chimbetu headlining the acts, as he is set to share the stage with some of the Nyanga’s finest acts and others from outside the district.

The festival will be held at various places in Nyanga.

Some of the artistes on the line-up include The Expression Band, Katso, Sarungano and The Storytellers, Equaliser and Black Umfolosi. The festival will be hosted by Nhimbe Trust, whose executive director, Joshua Nyapimbi, said it will begin with a bira at Chief Saunyama’s homestead.

“The Expression Band and Black Umfolosi are headline acts, supported by several local traditional groups on Friday at Chief Saunyama’s homestead,” he said.

“Then on Saturday morning, there is the inaugural NAF Golf tournament which will run concurrently with the inaugural Nyangani FM – ZiFM Local Emerging Talent Stage (LETS) at Montclair Hotel.

“The Nyanga Arts Festival Golf Tournament will be hosted at the Claremont Golf Club and the game format is individual stableford.”

Nyapimbi said the festival will close with an evening performance by both emerging and seasoned artistes including Katso, Equaliser, Sarungano and Sulu Chimbetu. 

“The festival is an initiative of Nhimbe Trust, in partnership with the people of Nyanga,” he said. “This year, the events are part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversaries of Nhimbe Trust, and the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

“Following on the success of the inaugural edition in 2022, where over 3 000 festival-goers revelled in performances by some of Zimbabwe’s top artistes alongside the still-emerging talent of the area, this year the festival has grown to another level with something for everyone.”

Nyapimbi said the programme features a new line-up of exciting artistes, of which some are considered national treasures.

 “Gracing the stage will be the legendary acapella group Black Umfolosi, all the way from the City of Kings, Bulawayo, who grew from humble beginnings as a group of young high school boys to a world-class act touring over several decades in multiple performances and reappearances in many countries of the world,” he said.

Nyapimbi said Ilima Records, which was established by Nhimbe Trust, to facilitate the creation, production and marketing of indigenous music to enhance music business in Zimbabwe, will offer a recording and promotion contract to the artiste selected as outstanding in the line-up of young artistes featured. The theme of this year’s edition is, ‘We are #LivingHeritage,’ which is also the theme for the 20th Anniversary of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

“The year 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the convention — two decades since it was adopted on 17 October 2003 by the 32nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO,” said Nyapimbi. 

“It’s the opportunity for UNESCO, States Parties to the Convention and all stakeholders involved in the safeguarding of living heritage, to highlight that living heritage belongs to all. Organised under the theme We Are #LivingHeritage, the 2023 Nyanga Arts Festival is also the occasion to reflect on the role played by Nhimbe Trust in advancing the goals of the 2003 Convention in particular and the national cultural policy and its concomitant legislative agendas and actions in general.”

Nyapimbi said the ‘Living Heritage’ is about people, resilience and knowledge passed on from generation to generation. 

“For this reason, the anniversary is also an invitation to Governments, NGOs, universities, bearers, practitioners and those who appreciate living heritage to organise activities, join UNESCO’s social media campaign (#LivingHeritage) and follow anniversary events, online or in person,” he said.

Nyapimbi said that in partnership with the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), it will see the first Academic Fellow from CUT.