Online Reporter
Laura Maposa
THE chairperson of the NAMA adjudicating committee, Hope Masike, has said there has been a massive increase in the number of submissions for the awards.
She was speaking during the announcement of the 23rd National Arts Merit Awards nominees.
“We had a massive increase in submissions compared to previous years.
“There was a noticeable increase in certain areas, particularly video art performance, arts, photography and installation.
“There were consistent challenges in the quality of the submissions, many submissions were referred to but very few included the required material such as space and other necessary information and this made it difficult for the authenticator to get.
“The level of creativity has greatly improved in several technical issues, for instance, video quality.
“However, some submissions had poor qualities, low resolution and they were shaky, which made it difficult for the adjudicators to see the dancing properly.
“Inaudible or low-quality sounds negatively impact the submission, it decreases the appreciation of the dances or production.
“Because adjudicators have plenty of work to get through, captivating them by decent packaging means your work is always a plus for the work being considered.”
The adjudication process began on December 1 and this process was based on submitted entries and those identified by individuals, and institutional monitors tasked to keep an eye on the arts and culture in the country, throughout the year. “A total of 2371 were received for this year’s NAMAs, 14 of the entries were submitted physically, 1073 online and 484 were submitted by monitors.
“In visual arts, we had 333 submissions, in theatre we had 88, literal arts we had 161, film and television we had 451, dance 126, spoken word 69, in music we had 1055 and special awards we had 51,” she said.
