The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sunday Leisure Correspondent
THE 11th edition of Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo took place last week from 21 to 26 September and our correspondent, Ngqwele Dube (ND) took time to pose questions to festival director, Raisedon Baya (RB) about the current and previous editions of the multi-disciplinary arts fiesta. Excerpts of the interview are below.
ND: What are your impressions of the just-ended edition of the Intwasa Festival?
RB: The just-ended edition of the festival was very successful. Attendance was very good. In fact, very impressive. This is not just for free shows but also for paying ones. This is evidence of the growth and acceptance of the festival.
ND: Comparatively, do you think the festival has grown over the last five years?
RB: Yes. The festival is growing. Perhaps not at the speed we all desire but growth is there. Five years ago we were doing less than 20 events. Now we are curating over 50 events. Organising it with a skeleton staff and shoe-string budget is stressful, but the results fuel our passion and keep us going.
ND: What has hindered its growth or what has aided its success?
RB: The growth you can say is due to many reasons. But the main ones are collaborations with other like-minded organisations. These have been instrumental in the slow but steady growth of Intwasa. Also our programming has cultivated the public’s interest in the festival.
ND: You have been the director for the past five years; what can you say have been your hits and misses?
RB: Every edition has its hits and misses. Sometimes it is about performing a balancing act; sometimes one is expected to produce magic with nothing. We take it in our stride. However, the most important thing is the bigger picture, that is to take Intwasa to a much higher level and make it the most successful arts festival in Zimbabwe and the region.
ND: The main stage has come out as one of the most popular venues of the venue, do you think this is because entry was free? And how has it impacted in the growth and popularity of the festival?
RB: The main stage is free and popular. Yes. It is free because it’s about giving access to the people, especially those who do not normally have access to the arts throughout the year. It is also about building a faithful audience for local artistes. Most people who have been to the main stage are now starting to look for other festival activities and pay for them. Artistes like Clement Magwaza and others grew from their appearance there. They are now in demand because people now know what they can deliver.
ND: Audiences feel year-in year-out there has been the same musicians particularly at the main stage and this has created monotony in the festival line-up. What is your take on that?
RB: The same artistes? Well, are these not the same artistes that make the arts in Bulawayo tick? The same artistes we want recognised? We believe they are delivering. The supporters of the main stage are happy with the crowds that come through.
These artistes have good fan bases that the festival is tapping into. May you give me three or four big names in Bulawayo besides Jeys Marabini, Ndolwane Super Sounds, Clement Magwaza, Ndux Junior and Chase Skhuza. However, this does not mean we don’t recognise or programme new talent. We do.
ND: There is a feeling you have personally continually dominated the theatre sector as an arts director and used the section to promote plays crafted through your arts grooming project, the Schools Playwrights and Actors Academy, what is your view on that one?
RB: As for theatre we are actually looking for new theatre content from January to August. As a festival we welcome new, quality content and new voices. But these new voices should not spring up only for the festival. Let’s see them doing things first. As for the Live Literature Project it is done in partnership with Centre For Talent Development. It is an audience building initiative. We have it throughout the week because it is very popular and attracts audiences both in the morning and afternoon. No professional show has been able to attract paying audiences in the morning and afternoon for the festival except this project. In the past we used to have professional plays on those slots and the theatre was always empty.
ND: Do you think the festival has managed to get the buy in from the wider local arts sector and also the local community, including the corporate world?
RB: I continue to say the festival is work in progress. We are slowly getting the buy in from corporates, from city fathers and Bulawayo residents. But the work we put in is actually just labour of love.
ND: Efforts were made to take the festival to the high-density suburbs but the programme was shelved, what challenges did you face in presenting the festival to those areas?
RB: We faced serious challenges in the past when we tried to take the festival to the high-density suburbs — we had serious security challenges, electricity blackouts, low audiences turnout. It just did not make any business sense. It was just not viable for the festival. Also you can’t create a festival mood or atmosphere with venues miles apart. The current thinking is audiences should be able to walk from one venue to another.
ND: Why have acts from Harare been the headline for the Bayethe Concert while locals are sidelined? Have you considered bringing in acts from other countries in the region for this show?
RB: Intwasa is not just about Bulawayo artistes. A major objective of the festival is to celebrate diversity in all its forms. Bringing Harare acts is much cheaper than bringing in foreign acts. And why are people advocating for foreign acts instead of Zimbabwean acts? Foreign acts are more expensive to bring in. As for the Bayethe Concert the idea is to grow it until it becomes a platform for international acts.
ND: How has lack of funding affected the implementation of the full plans that you would have envisaged for the festival?
RB: Lack of funding affects programming as we cannot bring in bigger and more popular acts. We really want to maintain the international nature of the festival, but we can only do so with enough resources. Funding also affects the organisation of the whole festival as most people in the team are serving the festival on a voluntary basis. It would be nice to have the core team starting work much earlier but with no funding they only come in a week before the festival. That obviously affects the quality of how we manage the event.
ND: After five years at the helm do you feel it’s time to hand over the baton or you feel you still have what it takes to continue effectively running the festival?
RB: No job is permanent anymore. It’s about results. When my time comes I shall leave. Hopefully I shall leave a legacy good enough to be remembered by many.
