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We celebrate the new way of doing things in the City of Kingsa�� entertainment scene or rather show business if you fancy, through the inauguralA�A� Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAA).
However, it all depends on the night of 30 June to judge if the city is onto something worthwhile.
Generally in any field, if awards are to bear motivational significance, both symbolic and pragmatic, they have to fulfil at least three different functions.
First, they have to be visible and known to every artiste. Second, they have to carry a high degree of prestige. And third, they have to be democratic, or within reach of potential candidates.
One only hopes there wona��t be controversy similar to what happened at the South African Music Awards (SAMAs) when new kid on the block Babes Wodumo and her suspected a�?baea�? producer Mampintsha of Big Nuz ran riot on social media discrediting the awards because the new kid had lost Song of The Year.
BAA should without failA� meet all of the above conditions. Bulawayo would like to see almost every year going forward, a consistent or hugely influential artiste for that particular year coming forward to be celebrated and honoured.
Ita��s unfortunate that Bulawayoa��s golden era of music talent and film that boasted of names such as Edwin Hama, Don Gumbo, Beater Mangethe (both in music and film), Cont Mhlanga (yes, hea��s now old school) among others did not stand in front of the city and shout a�?thank youa�? while looking at their gongs. But now its time for the likes of Cal_Vin, Proud Of You (POY), Raisedon Baya and others to live like true celebrities in their home town.
BAA should go beyond prestige, they should be embraced as symbols of achievement. In about five years we hope the BAA will be much more competitive than most awards in the country if not all. .
Online Reporter