Arts views with Thabani H Moyo
THE arts sector in Zimbabwe is not all glitz and glamour as many perceive it. Being an artist in Zimbabwe is a taxing, tiring, draining and sometimes a frustrating undertaking. In most cases those who take up the arts as ‘a profession’ in Zimbabwe do so out of the love for the trade. Many dive into the field because of their inborn artistic talents and some are inspired by opportunities that they collide with during their school days. The truth is that the arts in Zimbabwe and anywhere in the world is no walk in the park. Many times artists find themselves wallowing in draining situations and even at the verge of giving up. There are moments when a voice of encouragement is needed for one to continue and in most cases that voice never comes. Realising these challenges and the need for support for Matabeleland South artists, the Gwanda born artist Adrian Musa came up with Talent Innovation and Mentorship Exercise (T.I.M.E ) Project to encourage and arm artists to soldier on. Realising that Gwanda artists did not have a coordinated approach to their work Musa saw the need to come up with a platform where artists will share ideas. “Most of us worked as individuals, we worked in our little corners and produced our works but in the end did not get the much needed financial returns, support and publicity. Everything started and ended here in Gwanda,” Musa said. In short, there was a need for Gwanda artists to come together and support each other. There was also a need for Gwanda artists to reach out to the world and share their works. The TIME Project was initially planned as a platform where Gwanda artists would be invited to physically interact with experts from different areas and spheres of life so that they can learn a thing or two. “As Gwanda artists we need to interact with experts from different parts of the country and the world so that they can share with us their knowledge, skills and experiences,” notes Musa. The platform however had to be moved online when Covid-19 struck. After realising that most artists in Gwanda operated informally Musa saw that there was need to encourage artists to formalise their operations. He did this by inviting K Kusena, the deputy director at National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) to share the mandate of the Arts Council and the importance of artists registering with the Council. “After the interaction with Kusena most artists registered with the Arts Council and have formalised their operations. This makes it easy for them to grab business opportunities as their dealings are now legit,” he said. The platform has also managed to bring opportunities to artists. TIME has hosted music promoters who have shared their experiences and their business operations with artists. Through the initiative TIME has partnered with the United Kingdom promotion stable Y2K Promotions. “That shall see TIME being a scout that shall recommend talented musicians from the remote areas into Y2K music stable,” Musa said.TIME has also established a good working relationship with X Studios. X Studios has promised to record young and upcoming artists from the rural districts of Matabeleland South. Soon TIME will be registered with the Association of Music Promoters of Zimbabwe. In 2020 alone TIME managed to invite more than 20 guests to share with artists from Matabeleland South on its Monday and Wednesday platforms where different constructive issues are discussed. Some of the guests include Um’Afikazi Sithandazile Dube, internationally acclaimed debater Zibusiso Ndlovu, Jazz musician Pamela Magariro, the band manager of Mokoomba Marcus Gora, Citezw founder Zenzele Ndebele and many more. These discussions have opened numerous networking opportunities for Matabeleland South Artists.
