adminoutreach meeting with Mbare’s visual artists at Canon Paterson in Mbare on Monday.
The purpose of the seminar was to gather artists’ views in an inclusive process necessary towards formation of a national representative visual arts body.
Prior to the outreach meeting the Steering Committee had conducted two major consultative visual arts seminars with some of Harare’s visual artists at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. After realisation that participants at both meetings did not constitute a greater percentage of Harare’s visual artists’ population, the Steering Committee found it imperative to conduct consultative outreach seminars at artists’ major working spaces.
The consultative outreach meeting with Mbare’s visual artists at Canon Paterson was realised after wide consultations with the chairperson of the arts centre Victor Mutungwizo and the secretary Charles Mudarikwa.
More than fifty creative practitioners converged at the arts centre where they aired their concerns and proposals towards the formation of a representative visual arts body.
Some of their contributions included having a knowledgeable leadership which will prioritise art and artists’ welfare; the need to have adequate research on various national and regional visual art constitutions to guide some structures and critical contents for our own.
Artists highlighted how there were many previous art associations formed during the course of 1980s and 90s in attempt to have national representative visual art bodies but failed to yield tangible results and disappeared. Issues concerning the need for conducting of more Intellectual Property Rights workshops for artists and the circulation of the current copyright legislation were raised.
Strong emphasis was also put on the need to highlight the grey areas in the current copyright legislation. There was also need to share notes with other national regional visual art steering committees, come up with proposals of sustainable policies and lobby with one voice for formulation of policies in certain sections of the current national copyright legislation.
The need for the establishment of a fund that will assist artists to legally register their artworks was echoed as a priority mandate for the representative art body if formed.
An art body that will deal decisively with issues of abuse of artworks, exploitation of artists and free circulation of artistic information is what artists are clamouring for.
The Harare Visual Arts Sector steering committee has also concurrently held an outreach meeting with Hatfield artists at Tsindi Lodge corner St Patrics road and the Airport road.
- Stephen Garan’anga is an international fine art practitioner, independent art projects coordinator, chairperson of AfricanColours Artists, critical visual arts writer. Email: [email protected]
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