Arts Views with Thabani H Moyo
COVID-19 continues to mutate and wreak havoc throughout the world. Artistes continue to lose hope as they can no longer exhibit, perform and sell their works. Individuals, families, religious groups, artists, bands, travellers, humanity in general is at the verge of losing faith.
Frustration is creeping in. Tomorrow is uncertain and unknown. Will the world get back to normalcy again? Will multitudes get together in festivals again? Will the human race be able to invite, accommodate, sup and dance with strangers again?
It is within such gloomy circumstances that Vusa Mkhaya, Zimbabwean born and European based Imbube artist, projects a voice of hope. To him all is not lost.
The sun will rise again. The world will be sane again. Things will be back to normal. The answer is in getting vaccinated so that humanity is able to fight and push back the invading virus. He shared his thoughts with artistes from Zimbabwe on Shangano Whatsapp platform.
“There is hope. In some European countries life has started getting back to normal. We had huge audiences in stadiums in the past week. People have to be vaccinated in order for the world to get to ‘normal’. In some countries before artists go on stage they have to produce their vaccination cards or a negative Covid-19 test and the audiences alike,” explains the soft spoken Mkhaya.
Under the current situation, before the final battle is won, creatives are looking for answers as to how they can survive. The word, from one zoom workshop to the other, has been taking art exhibition and performances into the digital spaces. The advocates of this theory have been encouraging artistes to be technologically and digitally equipped. New spaces are on use on social media spaces and the internet.
Many artists have gone that route. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube ‘live streams’ are now a common phenomenon. These have cost artists a lot of money to put together. Yes, they have given artists visibility during a time when Covid-19 statistics have dominated all information platforms. Most of the live streamed shows in Zimbabwe and Africa have only won likes and nothing more. A few artists have got opportunities on radio and television for a few dollars. The question is, how can artistes monetise their exhibitions and performances on these digital spaces?
“It is not easy to monetise your work online. In Europe some theatres never closed. Audiences were subscribing online to log in to access and watch shows. The log in password is only for one gadget,” explains the Imbube gentle giant.
However some rural based artistes highlighted that digital spaces are for those who are in developed areas that have access to fast internet connection. Those living in rural areas have a huge challenge when it comes to putting online shows or even accessing them as audiences. Connectivity is the biggest challenge. With little help coming in from the government most arts projects will collapse and artistes will be forced to look for other options to put food on the table. Artistes are in a dilemma.
On how musicians can have access to radio stations Mkhaya had an honest advice for the local musicians.
“Musicians should take their music to the radio stations. Introduce themselves to bloggers, arts journalists etc. They must make personal contacts with people on strategic positions. They also should be active on social media.
Give themselves at least 30 minutes a day to post about their craft on twitter, Facebook and other platforms. The problem is that some artistes don’t like to come out and market their works. Artistes have to create opportunities because no one will come to their doorsteps,” said the imbube die hard.
On collaborations Mkhaya highlighted that he was very accessible and would love to work with artistes from Matabeleland North and other regions.
Mkhaya is a very experimental artist who is led by an adventurous spirit. He believes above all, imbube is the goldmine and he treats it with a lot of respect. He is a humble man who has helped many artistes to realise their dream projects. His vast experience can be taken advantage of by any serious creative with a winning game plan.
