Who benefits from arts festivals?

Nkululeko Nkala

The biggest problem with art is that in many circles itaï¿½ï¿½s just viewed as entertainment. Thataï¿½ï¿½s why many events such as Intwasa come and pass with many noticing the plenty plus things involved in making the events a success.

Here is who benefits from arts festivals:

Venues aï¿½ï¿½ In Bulawayo all venues are paid for. for example the Art Gallery and Amphitheater have their own fees.

The CafAï¿½ at the Gallery, the Pub and cafAï¿½ at Bulawayo Theatre will also benefit as patrons of these events will support them. Rainbow Hotel may give us the venue for free with the hope for a windfall in terms of buys, but I doubt they will ever realise anything to that effect up until they realise itaï¿½ï¿½s not corporate events or ministerial functions with bottomless tabs.

Artistes aï¿½ï¿½ Though this year we did not pay many artistes , Intwasa is job creation. We know for a fact some have been hired from Intwasa or seen at Intwasa. Collaborations have been born. Although sometimes the money is minimal. The little that people get goes a long way.

Printers aï¿½ï¿½ To run a festival we need tickets, posters, banners and T-shirts. These guys are guaranteed of work from Intwasa. Though this year it was not much it realised some people a few thousands.

Catering companies aï¿½ï¿½ We run some workshops during the festival. Some need meals, we hire local service providers.

Sometimes we need to feed our teams. This year we used four established catering companies.

Sound and Lights aï¿½ï¿½ Because we are a performance festival we need these to make our works much easier. More than half our events need lights and sound meaning business for these service providers.

Security aï¿½ï¿½ Both Private security and Police benefit from Intwasa as we pay for their services so they can maintain order at the festival.

National Arts Council , Zimra and Censorship board aï¿½ï¿½ a significant amount goes to these organisations who are supposed to make art easy for us. I will stop there.

Small Businesses aï¿½ï¿½ We have been giving small businesses a chance to showcase their works and sell at the festival. Those doing designing, curios and burger stands had a chance to be part of the festival.

Partners aï¿½ï¿½ most of our partners have products which are consumed by many at the festival. For example Afdis and Ingwebu had a sizeable number of their products moving during the festival. Those there for Corporate responsibility also got the numbers they wanted.

Media aï¿½ï¿½ Special thanks to all media; print and electronic. They are a partner and they also get products from the festival in terms of material.

There are a lot of opportunities for everyone in the festival. People just need to get involved.