Arts indaba ends on high note

to Education, Sport, Arts and Cul­ture Minister David Coltart.
It was noted that there was need for a master plan or framework through which arts can be profession­alised and regulated vis-à-vis creating good art, new mar­kets and funding.
A call was made to harmonise function and resources for the arts and culture departments in the sev­eral ministries that deal with arts and culture.
The taskforce also noted that the sector show interface with Minister Coltart on a regular basis. This was prompted by the Minister’s absence at the important Indaba.
It was also noted that an electronic forum should be created for debate among stakeholders as well as profiling the sector through the National Arts Council directory on the website and calendar of events and their budgets.
While some of the problems emerged as part of the recommendations, of great concern was the creation a stand alone ministry of arts and culture and delegates agreed that there should be sub-sector indabas that will culminate in the national indaba.
Among the presenters was veteran theatre pro­ducer Cont Mhlanga, who challenged artistes to create opportunities for business.
Mhlanga said now is the time to move away from words to action and make money from the arts.
He said he was concerned that artistes were failing to create new markets for their products and yet the industry was blighted with festivals which did not add value towards a sustainable industry.
Mhlanga also spoke highly of “arts properties” such as the Jikinya Dance Fes­tival, saying the industry could make serious money if they tap into its full potential.
He said one way of professionalising the arts was through setting up standards between amateurs, semi-amateurs and professionals. 
Guest speaker, Ghonche Materego, the executive secre­tary of the National Arts Council of Tanzania said the sit­uation in his country was similar to that in Zimbabwe.
Materego said both countries lacked adequate funding for the arts but he, however, warned that the sector was better off under the Ministry of Education.
“In Tanzania we started off with funding from the gov­ernment but as time went on and due to budget con­straints funding for the arts was stopped.
“It is the same in my country because as we speak we don’t get any funding from government. However, what we have done was to come up with strategies of raising money for example, charging levies on any foreign artistes that perform in the country,” Materego said.
He, however, hailed the National Arts Council of Zim­babwe for working with the little funding they get from Government but stressed the need for the regulatory body to be creative and innovative in their bid to profes­sionalise the industry.
Other speakers included Culture Fund director Farai Mpfunya, who urged artistes to think outside the box while veteran playwright Stephen Chifunyise presented a paper on where artists can access funding for their busi­nesses. Chifunyise bemoaned the lack of knowledge on the part of some artistes, who despite having good busi­ness proposals, fail to take up the opportunities and apply for funding.
A document by Pathisa Nyathi, on the national her­itage arts and culture policy, was roundly dismissed as bogus because the artists claimed they were not con­sulted.
Be that as it may, the Indaba 2012, sponsored by the British Council and Culture Fund was a success as it called for action rather than cheap talk.
This year’s indaba focused on the arts and culture policy, funding policies and models as well as the scope of intangible cultural heritage in Zim­babwe.