Artistes urged to target foreign markets

ARTISTES in the country have been urged to rebrand their products so that they can easily be marketable not only in the local market but eventually infiltrate the regional and international communities.
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Cde Andrew Langa made these remarks at the national launch of Culture Week that was held yesterday at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre.

He said the arts and culture sector easily had the potential of becoming a driving force of economic development in the country.

“My vision is to see the sector being transformed from being an informal arts and culture sector to a viable creative industry that becomes a driving force of economic development.

“My call to the arts practitioners is to rebrand our products, our traditional foods, music, dance, poetry, visual works, crafts and all forms of arts products, so that they become competitive not just in the local market but also in the regional and international markets. It is important to create an appetite for arts, culture and entertainment products in order to attract consumption of the same products,” Cde Langa said.

He said it was important to note that the world was fast accepting that the future of the global economy lay in the culture industries.

Cde Langa said retaining culture in the heart of development initiatives was an essential investment to the country’s future and that there was a need to develop a creative economy where various cultures were industrialised and promoted to improve the livelihoods of individuals, families and communities.

“We are not just talking economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life, cultural initiatives and industries are therefore an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development.

“These celebrations enable us as Zimbabweans to reflect on our culture and remind ourselves of the need to preserve our rich cultural heritage as part of our intangible heritage, a nation’s identity is seen through the identity of its people expressed through their culture which distinguishes it from the rest of other nations,” he said.

He revealed that his ministry was in the process of reviewing the National Cultural Policy as part of aligning its policies and statutes with the National Constitution.

“The policy is premised on the importance of culture in developing and promoting cultural industries. Celebrating culture is not enough on its own. It has to be sustained by a creative economy, there should be a strengthening of those activities and practices that are not only cultural but also put bread on our tables.

“Zimbabwe is a multicultural and multilingual nation and I call upon all to use Culture Week as a time to raise awareness nationwide on the importance of intercultural dialogue,” said Cde Langa.

He further castigated organisers of the event who usually took advantage of artistes by not paying them whenever they performed but instead just provided them with food and drinks, saying that people had to realise that artistes were like everyone in business trying to put food on their tables.