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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
THE National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) says lack of funding has numbed its efforts to fully carry out its duties within the Cultural And Creative Industries (CCIs), something that has left creatives doubtful of the organisation’s potency.
This comes after the arts governing body descended upon the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo for its nationwide tour last week on Wednesday to ascertain challenges that creatives face vis-a-vis what the Council is doing to address the adverse effects that creatives are facing.
The “Bulawayo State of the Arts Meeting” was chaired by NACZ board chairperson Nozipo Maraire.
In her keynote address, Maraire said the NACZ’s impact is limited by financial constraints.
“As the NACZ, we want to hear from you (stakeholders in the arts sector) so that we better know how to help you. We lack funding, something that has numbed our efforts to fully carry out our duties.
Our coffers don’t allow us to fully function to our maximum capacity and we are looking for alternative ways to funding to help you (creatives) be the best you can be,” she said.
In response, local arts practitioner, Saimon Mambazo Phiri said:
“This feels like deja vu. We have been here before where we congregate, air our concerns, but nothing comes out of such meetings. Such things end up giving us an ‘us and them’ scenario where the board is adrift of the creatives they are representing while the goal is to be in tandem with you (NACZ board).”
Veteran artiste, Jeys Marabini echoed the same sentiments.
“How long have we been called to such meetings and discussing the same things over and over again.
“We need to find solutions now because we’ve already identified the problems that we (creatives) face. We need solutions now, not meetings to discuss challenges that we already know,” said Marabini.
People from different arts fields aired their grievances with stand-up comedian, Ntando van Moyo saying the Council must clarify and refine categories within the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama). The awards are organised by NACZ.
“I feel like our growth as specialists in humour is stunted due to blurred lines. The comedy category needs refining since every facet of comedy is looped together.
We have different kinds of comedy which includes stand-up comedy, skits on social media and situational comedy on television and all these are different and need to be treated as such. This classification will help us grow in whatever field we are,” said Moyo.
Events manager Archy Dube from Dab Three Events lamented the tedious processes they have to go through to organise shows.
“We need help organising shows because we have a lot of hurdles to jump. Can’t we have a one-stop shop for Government services to help us in our operations? Sometimes, our events end up being flops because of the vigorous challenges to do with too much paperwork,” said Dube.
Lately, the NACZ has been on a drive to constantly keep in touch with creatives around the country through consultative meetings.
The NACZ is responsible for the promotion of the CCIs and championing arts development in the country.
It has been responsible for events including the Namas, Culture Month, Arts Indaba and the Jikinya Arts Festival.
In attendance were NACZ director Nicholas Moyo, NACZ provincial arts manager Cleopatra Dube, NACZ board member Jomo Mhone as well as NACZ programmes officer William Nyandoro. Also in attendance were industry practitioners inclusive of musicians, authors, managers and event promoters.
Online Reporter