Intwasa had to be held without fail: Organisers

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
The Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo was this year held under very restrictive conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

The organisers of the festival which was held from December 21 to December 24, had to adhere to the new normal which is meant to curb the spread of the pandemic.

This year has been a terrible year for the arts sector as countries worldwide were forced to enforce lockdowns which among other measures banned live shows, forced the closure of galleries and limited gatherings.

The Bulawayo festival was supposed to be held in September but had to be postponed to this month due to lockdown restrictions.

There were strong fears that the festival was going to be cancelled as has happened to many other events that involve large gatherings.

Festival director Raisedon Baya said they feared that the festival which was held without fail for the past 15 years, was going to be cancelled for the first time this year.

“We had ruled out the 2020 edition after we were forced to postpone it in September, its traditional month. We are glad our partners came through and we held the festival, both live and virtually. Some artistes were actually performing for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in March,” said Baya.

He said what enabled them to hold the festival was that they did not stop preparing for the event though the conditions were negative.

“We really didn’t stop. Remember arts is where we survive from. We had to keep hoping and trying to adapt to the changing circumstances. The organisation of the event however, didn’t change much but we went for digital platforms and streamed our shows via Facebook. We also trimmed the programme and made sure it was done without breaking Covid-19 rules,” said Baya.

He said the festival took a hybrid approach with some shows having live audiences while others were broadcast live on the Intwasa Facebook page.

The festival was held at three venues, the Bulawayo Theatre for plays, the National Gallery in Bulawayo for the Women, Wine and Words; Comedy Night and poetry slams while Sabela Studios played host to the Intwasa Fashion show, Twitter Party and workshops.

The rest of the shows were virtual.

Spoken word entertainment like comedy was staged in front of a live audience of limited numbers. Q Dube performed his Ok What really happened comedy set and a Comedy Night with MaForty, Ntando Van Moyo, Zenzo Aleck and Mbongeni followed at the National Gallery.

At Sabela Studios, the Twitter Party hosted by Pat Phiri and Chipo Mawarire was one of the highlights of the festival with Djembe Monks performing for limited guests.

Hwabaraty staged his Unplugged Concert that saw him wow the virtual audience.

In theatre, Vagina Monologues Africa, Sons of Men and The Taking were all shown to a limited number of people at the Bulawayo Theatre. The Intwasa Fashion had last been held in 2016.