Chronicle Editor
Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Reporter
In a modern society that has adopted a lot of western cultures, things such as rites of passage, courtship and marriage are affected mostly and it takes a society to address issues that emanate from these social practices.
Yesterday, the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Bulawayo together with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) held a discussion on cultural issues at the gallery.
Running under the theme “Navigating interpersonal relations across cultures”, the discussion centered on issues of raising and guiding children, inter-cultural marriages and a lot of cultural aspects which attendants agreed and disagreed on during the session.
In an interview on the sidelines of the event, NGZ regional director, Silenkosi Moyo said the dialogue seeks to address cultural issues in line with the National Cultural Month theme – “Celebrating Cultural Diversity: Leaving no one and no place behind”.
“There are issues that are pertinent among youths and adults, especially this existing generational gap and the effects that it has, which is culture. So, through this conversation, we’re creating a dialogue where we’re able to exchange views, thoughts and perceptions and come to an agreement and be informed on how the decisions that we make impact our children as a way of finding common ground, despite our different beliefs.
“We’re planning many of these dialogues in the future so that we programme with society and societal issues in mind,” she said.
NACZ provincial manager Cleopatra Dube said the dialogue is a platform to unite people saying such conversations will assist artists to come up with relevant content.
“Such conversations unite people of different cultures and ages and this helps us to understand each other, especially when it comes to social issues like marriage. It also helps us to live in harmony in society because we’ll be able to understand each other’s culture. It helps cultivate ubuntu among us.
“Such issues cannot be solved once off, but a continuation of such dialogues will help us in the long run. It also helps our artists to produce content that addresses common cultural issues that many can easily relate to,” Dube said.
The panelists for the dialogue were Pastor Clifford Sibanda, Sibongumusa Dlodlo, Thembela Hlangela, Ellen Mlangeni and Naison Thwala. The event was attended by local artists and representatives from different organisations.
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