Chronicle Editor
Millicent Dube, Showbiz Reporter
THE Loziba Festival meant to uplift young female arartistsnd all young women kick-started on Monday with a “Young women’s luncheon” at Pumula North Hall.
Named after Queen Loziba, senior queen and King Mzilikazi’s wife in the Ndebele Kingdom, the festival which is in its third edition is being held under the theme: “Arts addressing violence against women and girls and mental health issues”. This is in light of its objective of creating widespread acceptance and support for young women’s art.
On Monday, through a luncheon, women were given a platform to freely converse about issues that affect them without boundaries and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Spearheading the luncheon held at the Pumula North Hall was Councilor Sikhululekile Moyo who said as the council, they are looking into ways to see how the girl child can be assisted in terms of digital innovation among other areas. Various issues including sewage bursts and blockages, drug and substance abuse, and illegal abortions were discussed.
Yesterday, the festival was entirely focused on performances of artists through a poetry slam that was held at Lagondola featuring performances by Black Rose, Blessing Langa, and Chichi.
Today, in celebration of International Women’s Day, there will be a round table conversation with young women in art at the Youth in Innovation Trust offices.
Tomorrow, to close the festival, a concert has been lined up at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo with the main acts being Pamellah, Stewie le Savage and Aejay August.
Loziba Festival media representative, Thando Gwinji said everything is on course adding that they are in the process of creating a website where those who cannot physically attend the events, will be able to follow proceedings. She said the goal is to reach as many women as possible.
“People have shown interest in what we do especially by adopting some of our cultural roots that have been long sidelined. Some of the members (artistes) that we started with eventually found their identity and were signed by entertainment promoters for other programmes. That for us was a big win.
“This year, we’re bringing in new members and hopefully, they’ll get the same exposure in their craft,” Gwinji said.
“The goal of the festival is to elevate female artistes from Bulawayo so that they contribute meaningfully to the city’s creative economy. We also want to celebrate and support their art so that they make names for themselves in the city and with time, penetrate the regional and international market.”
The festival is a brainchild of some female artistes who came together after seeing the need to support each other in order to rise in the male-dominated field. They partnered with Youth in Innovation Trust to come up with a concept that would honour the life of Queen Loziba while embracing the Ndebele culture and giving female artistes a breakthrough. They have since welcomed new members and shared their experiences with other women in the country as a sisterhood.
Gwinji said the festival was inspired by Queen Loziba as she stood her ground in terms of uplifting the status of women in a patriarchal state.
“We chose Queen Loziba as the background name of our festival because she played a part in assisting marginalised women in the past,” she said.
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