Arts Views with Thabani H Moyo
INTWASA Arts Festival koBulawayo seems to have deliberately taken a stand to recognise and celebrate women during the Festival. It will appear Fridays during the festival days have been set aside for women. Friday the 24th of September this year was lined up with activities that spoke to girl child and women’s issues.
To kick start the day was the Women’s Round Table at the National Art Gallery which was moderated by Lady Tshawe. The attendees to the symposium were women from varied backgrounds which included construction, farming, teaching, journalism and the creative sector. The group was made of a well-balanced composition, extremists and moderates.
Thwithakazi, Busi Ndlovu-Bhebhe, a journalist, kicked off the proceedings. In her conversations she probed how women interacted with the media. Her presentation highlighted four levels in which an individual can interact with the media which are ownership, control, content creator and as a consumer. It was clear that most women interacted with media as consumers and the content that they consume unfortunately seems not to be designed to help them.
There are few women who own and control the media. Women who attended the round table agreed that the cause of such imbalance was due to societal constructs and access to resources. Institutions like the church, school and family were also blamed for reinforcing women’s suppression though sometimes this was not done deliberately. It became clear as the conversations progressed that women needed to unlearn what society has taught them if they are to make their presence felt and take a leading role.
While older women were attending the round table, Amplifying Girls’ Voices Through Digital Arts was also taking place at the Bulawayo Club. COVID 19 has seen a shift from traditional forms of arts into digital arts and this is what young women who are part of Amplifying voices are doing, advocacy through digital arts.
Amplifying Girls Voices through digital arts uses film, podcasts and magazines as tools to give girls a voice. These platforms cater for different talents that the girls have and herein lies the power of the project. During the launch one could see young ladies who were flowing with excitement, passion and hope. The group is ready to face the challenges and conquer the world. The girls are definitely implementing change.
Laureen Makhurane from Plan International highlighted that the project gave young ladies an opportunity to amplify their voices that have been either muffled or muted. She noted that the project is challenging the status quo and aimed at giving girls meaningful participation. She advised girls that they must be ready to face the risks that come with the project.
The evening had two events by women and for women. At Bulawayo Theatre there was a play ‘The Masks We Wear’, a story by Bridget Sayers and Samukeliso Ndlovu. The story was performed by Sihle Masuku, Patience Maseko and Xenia Dlomo. It was produced by Selina Moyo. The theatre piece has great potential. At the National Art Gallery there was Women, Wine and Words. A beautiful event that saw women performing beautiful pieces with the highlight being Nobuntu.
Intwasa’s women day was a well layered day that was in the form of discussions, activism and performances. Looking forward to the coming year’s celebrations.
