adminLovemore Meya Arts Correspondent
British poets Francesca Beard and Deanna Rodger will perform alongside a local contingent of spoken word stars at National Art Gallery in Bulawayo today as part of Intwasa Arts Festival that opened in the city of kings yesterday.
The poetry event is themed “Women, Wine and Words”and is put together by the British Council of Zimbabwe. British Council Zimbabwe assistant programmes manager, Extra-Blessings Kuchera said the council is pleased to be a long standing partner of the festival.
“British Council is a long standing partner of the Intwasa Arts Festival held in Bulawayo and has once again teamed up with the festival to confirm its commitment to the promotion of arts and development in Zimbabwe.
“This year’s line up at Intwasa includes poetry performances from UK artists Deanna Rodger and Francesca Beard. The two poets will be joined on stage by Lady Tshawe (Byo), Moreblessing Size (Hre), Fungai Mombeshora (Byo) and Tinashe Tafirenyika (Byo). Special band for the night will be the One Stand Band,” he said.
“Women, Wine and Words” has become a flagship event at Intwasa and has grown over the years to become an important platform dedicated to female artists.
The artistry of the performances set the tone for the festival and this year it will be more exciting as it will be the first time to have international artists performing at the event.
Beard has performed her poetry all over the world mainly supported by the British Council, while Deanna after becoming the youngest UK Poetry Slam Champion (2007 /8) was commissioned as a poet and actor in the 2012 Olympic Team Welcome Ceremonies as well as at Buckingham Palace.
Other performances supported by British Council include acts scheduled for tomorrow at the Ingwebu Stage at the City Hall Car Park.
Kuchera added, “It is great to be partnering Intwasa Festival, one of the most interesting and exciting calendar events in the country. We are happy to learn that the festival is growing and remains committed to development of arts in Zimbabwe.
“We are also excited that there will be a lot of cultural exchange between the UK and Zimbabwean artists. We look forward to an amazing festival.”
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