Arts Views with Thabani H Moyo.
THE list of NAMA of 2021 legends was announced at a colourful ceremony on Saturday 27 March 2021. The list has ignited wide celebrations among the winners and congratulatory messages are flying in all directions. Some are already planning celebratory events with one being planned for at Amagugu International Heritage Centre.
But not everyone is celebrating. Some are disappointed that they did not make it into the list. Some arguments have erupted on social media platforms. Celebrating legends through NAMA is a first by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and that must be commended as a milestone in independent Zimbabwe. But some arguments are not new. They are as old as the concept of awards itself. Awards bring with them the competitive spirit and those who fail to come up tops will naturally complain as individuals and sometimes as collectives.
One of the complaints making rounds is that there are clear omissions when it comes to artists from the Matabeleland region. Some of the names that have been thrown around are that of the music icon Busi Ncube who shot to fame during the days of Ilanga, Jeys Marabini, Sotsha Moyo, Raisedon Baya among others. Those pushing the omissions argument are pointing at some winners’ names in the list and saying their works are not known. The fact that someone’s name is not known by many in the region doesn’t mean that they are not deserving. Popularity doesn’t mean one is doing something that is affecting the arts community in a positive way.
There is a feeling that the list of 40 winners betrays the mantra that ‘Bulawayo is the cultural hub of Zimbabwe.’ Few legends from the Southern region made it to the list. Maybe it is a wake call to realise that mantras will not take us far as long as our works are not being recognised nationally and internationally. I believe it is time we revisited the mantra and measured how far right it is. Or maybe artists and cultural activists have been relaxing thinking the mantra will do the tricky on its own. Should national awards be carried out on the lines of proportional regional representation or on how deserving are the works?
The other observation is that the organisers tried to make a balancing act when it came to different artists genres to try and make sure that each and every sector is represented. To be honest this was a difficult call. Each genre has its own legends and they come in numbers. To accommodate everyone in the list of 40 was always going to be impossible. The organisers did what they could under the circumstances.
Some of the winners on the list are young. Some believe that some winners might have been left out to accommodate more senior artists. They say their inclusion in the winners list reduces the value of the NAMA Legends awards. From the onset the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe made it clear that they were looking at those artists who were 40 years and above and these ‘young’ winners qualified on that principle. These young artists have worked hard in their own right and have left marks wherever they have been. Mixing the new and the old has always been encouraged in each and every sector. These have to tap from each other’s experiences and energies.
Notable winners from Matabeleland include Lovemore Majaivana, Felix Moyo, Phathisa Nyathi, Cont Mhlanga, Nkululeko Dube, Matesu Dube, Hellen Mlangeni, Barbra Makhalisa-Nkala and Rashid Jogee who got his award posthumously. Congratulations to all the winners. Congratulations to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe for the splendid and mouth-watering event.
