The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe Leisure Correspondent —
BELGIUM-based not for profit Africalia says it will fund Zimbabwe’s arts sector for the next five years. This was revealed by Africalia programmes manager Bjorn Maes while addressing delegates at the recent Arterial Network General Council in Harare.
“Zimbabwe has a lot of potential and we have had good working relations with different arts organisations within the country over the years and we will keep financially supporting this sector for the next five years,” said Maes.
“This sector needs all the support it can get from local, private and public sponsors as well as international donors. Africalia strongly believes and advocates that the arts are a constructive powerhouse for the future of any developing society, in the West as in Africa . . .
“The arts are a positive force for nation-building and reconciliation, often a beacon of peace, a means for dialogue and resolution of conflict. Our support to movers and shakers in the arts and creative sector in Africa at large is never wasted, despite the difficult circumstances we might find ourselves in.”
Africalia recently partnered Highfield community theatre production company Edza Isu and funded the project to turn Machipisa footbridge into a creative space. The bridge will house a theatre, wall of fame and retail space.
“The Highfield project is not due to our merit, but simply that of an innovative local arts organisation. They negotiated with the city council and local dignitaries to turn a white elephant into a viable arts space. All we did was to provide a little bit of financial help upon the organisations request, so they can clean the place up and make a start.
“This initiative is clearly driven by the local arts community alone and supported in principle by the municipality, and that is precisely its strength. Africalia almost always operates like this, based on local initiatives and needs analysis through locally embedded actors. Local ownership is a tried and tested recipe for success, which we adhere to,” explained Maes.
He called on local sponsors to consider the arts as a viable investment, not only for human development but for their own visibility and corporate social responsibility purposes as well. Several organisations have benefited from partnerships with Africalia since 2007 when it started supporting arts projects in Africa.
“Mokoomba benefited from our support in their early days when they trained with the Music Crossroads Academy and they are probably the best known beneficiaries of our programmes. Pamberi Trust and Book Cafe have given rise and opportunity to many aspiring artistes over the past decade, some of which are established artistes today, and among them many female artistes too.
“Nhimbe Trust, based in Bulawayo, has grown to be a well-respected voice for the creative civil society in Zimbabwe and continues to build young people paying particular attention to the female voice. Afrikera Arts Trust has to date trained a few dozen contemporary dancers in the country, celebrating traditional as well as contemporary performing arts,” said Maes.
Asked if Zimbabwe’s creative sector could blossom to the levels of South Africa and Nigeria. Maes said, “Of course . . . Zimbabwe holds a golden ticket with all the talent and skills the country’s population has in music, theatre, dance, film, technical know-how, and administrative skills.
“Moreover, all this is based on confident cultural traditions that every Zimbabwean will refer to and most adhere to a clear national cultural identity. That is where its strengths lie. A conducive socio-economic context for the arts sector, with supportive legislation to encourage its growth, could see the sectors blossom to an economic sector of some importance.
“This seems to be the Achilles’ heel at the moment, but this could be turned around and some serious reflection and work has gone into this locally over the past couple of years. Remember, at one point, going back 10 to 15 years, Zimbabwe was a popular destination for international film productions.
“We know how security-sensitive this particular industry is, so we understand why it went. But this can come back, as the people who could bring it to that level again are around, in all levels of society. The same goes for the music industry. All it needs is for the world to get to know the top Zimbabwean acts well and opportunities for musicians to travel the region would be a first step towards the solution.”
Africalia was founded in 2000 with an initially objective of distributing African arts productions in Belgium. By 2007, it had morphed into a cultural co-operation organisation promoting sustainable human development by supporting African culture and contemporary art.
