Chamber of arts, culture launched

Stephen Chifunyise Theatre Corridors
ONE of the most significant results of the National Arts and Culture Indaba hosted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and held at the Stephen Margolis Resort, outside Harare, from October 23 to 30 was the establishment of the Chamber of Arts and Culture Industry. Representatives of different arts and culture sectors decided to put together a five-member team headed by Albert Chimedza to steer the concretisation of this revolutionary decision .

Since independence in 1980, several forums and platforms of associations, unions, alliances, committees and networks, have been created for the purpose of giving a voice to operators in different sections of the arts and culture sector.

In many respects these structures have played their roles of representing the interests and concerns of their specific sectors but have not succeeded in developing viable synergies to build a strong voice for the operators in the arts and culture industry, especially with regards to a voice that effectively advocates for policies that promote viable and sustainable arts and culture entrepreneurship that contributes to economic development and improvement in the arts and culture sector.

The idea of establishing the Chamber of Arts and Culture Industry was adopted for the purpose of building a well equipped representative of the arts and culture industry, a vibrant association of arts and culture entrepreneurs, a non-governmental organisation that speaks authoritatively on behalf of the arts and culture enterprises and a united, alert and committed voice that promotes and defends the interests of all arts and culture entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.

In 2011, arts and culture operators meeting in Harare, under the banner of the Zimbabwe Creative Civil Society set up a steering committee that developed a National Action Plan on Arts and Culture and began in 2012 in creating platforms for implementation of the action plan.

It is unfortunate that this tremendous effort has not received the commitment from the cultural operators necessary to achieve the objectives stated in the action plan. In fact, many cultural operators are still to identify with this platform and the well articulated action plan on arts and culture.

Also worth noting in this regard is that in April this year, theatre practitioners from all parts of the country met in Gweru at the National Theatre Indaba and came up with ideas on how to confront major challenges that are constraining the development of the theatre industry in Zimbabwe.

In the absence of resources to comprehensively engage players in the theatre industry as well as resources to attend to the tasks set up by the National Theatre Indaba what was stated as required actions have not been taken. In fact, in many respects the problems identified are not unique to the theatre industry but apply to all sections of the arts and culture industry.

In June this year, with financial support of the Unesco’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) Nhimbe Trust as secretariat of the National Action Plan of Arts and Culture and the Zimbabwe Creative Civil Society, in collaboration with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe facilitated a very fruitful meeting in Harare of managers of arts and culture festivals in Zimbabwe .

A major result of that meeting was the establishment of the Zimbabwe Festival Network. Recently Savannah Trust was commissioned as secretariat of the network. One hopes that soon the more that 37 arts and culture festivals in Zimbabwe will become active members of the network and will be become a vital voice of the festivals sector.

Also with the financial support of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, Nhimbe Trust in collaboration with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe facilitated on the 22nd capacity building workshop for leaders of arts and culture organizations in Zimbabwe. The workshop that was attended by leaders of 20 arts and culture organisations set a up lobbying group comprising Tsitsi Dangarembga, David Mungoshi, Rachel Chirume and Mgcini Nyoni to take up recommendations made by the workshop on the funding of the arts and culture sector.

Given all these efforts at establishing structures and voices for the specific sections of the arts and culture industry, the recently established Chamber of Arts and Culture Industry becomes a most appropriate platform that is both a lobbyist and a think tank for the arts and culture industry with capacity and mission to do the following:

Advocate vigorously for the adoption of policies essential for the growth and development of arts and culture industry.

Create an appropriate forum for consultations on urgent arts and culture industrial issues.

Provide a constant flow of information on all policies, regulations, legislations and by-laws which arts and cultural operators require for effective operation of their enterprises and activities.

Be an alert watch dog on all on local and international developments and practices that will impact on the viability and competitiveness of the local arts and culture industry.

Elaborate comprehensively solution recommendations for critical problems being faced by arts and culture entrepreneurs.

Provide constructive and solution based cooperation with Government departments and public bodies that act as policy formulation forums, regulators and recipients of recommendations to Government.

Provide professional information, opinions and advice required by the different sections of the arts and culture industry especially small and upcoming arts enterprises and organisations.

There is no doubt that what is urgently needed is that steering committee of the Chamber of Arts and Culture Industry quickly set up professional and sectoral committees responsible for recommending organisational structures, members procedures, production of professional disciplines and codes of ethics and what should be included in the articles of association of the body.

For the chamber to be an effective business support and networking organisation all arts and cultural operators in Zimbabwe must feel that they have consulted and that they have given it the mandate to engage the Government, public institutions, other chambers which influence the operations of arts and culture business in Zimbabwe.