The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
AS the last winds of winter blow through Bulawayo, arts lovers will this year not have the privilege of watching the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo, so often the event that heralds spring in the City of Kings.
With the world still gripped by Covid-19, this year’s event has been pushed back to the unfamiliar month of December, as organisers try to come to grips with the “new normal” that has seen the arts take a battering as events are shelved.
Over the years, arts lovers have always known that as the Jacarandas bloom, the best that Bulawayo has to offer in the arts will also be sprouting on stage, giving credence to the city’s claim of being the nerve centre of all things artistic in the country.
This year, however, the only music that will welcome spring will be the chatter of songbirds, as the festival has been pushed back to the festive season. According to festival director Raisedon Baya, it is the hope of the organisers that by December, Covid-19 regulations might have been relaxed.
“We normally do the festive in spring because the name is also about spring. But this year, we have pushed it to December during our Intwasa Extra slot because we’re hoping that by December Covid-19 regulations might have been relaxed and at least people might be able to enjoy live shows,” Baya told Sunday Life.
With most events going virtual, Baya said that Intwasa might also go that route if push came to shove.
“If by December the situation would still be like this, we might be forced to do something online. Intwasa has always been a community festival so the objective has been to reach our target audience which is the people,” he said.
Intwasa has always billed itself as a festival for the people and by the people. The main stage at the City Hall Car Park has, for many editions, been the beating heart of the arts extravaganza, with people able to get top-class entertainment for free. However, should the awards move online this year, Baya says they will love some of their magic and sparkle.
“We feel that the community or real target of the festival are people that are people that might not afford data to watch things online. So, if it’s going to happen in December and its online it would be because we want to avoid skipping a year and making this the one year in which we don’t have Intwasa,” he said.
The objective of giving rich entertainment to poorer members of society, Baya said, might not be attained.
“The situation as it is makes it hard for people, the artistes and the target audience for the festival. These are a group of people that enjoy being together, bringing issues that we can then discuss on the ground. I think as you know everything is going online and we might also therefore be forced to go online. But it would also not really reach the target audience of the festival which is probably your poor communities that normally enjoy the festival,” he said.
With inter-provincial and international travel still largely restricted, Baya said Bulawayo artistes will be mainstays of this year’s festivities. If Covid-19 restrictions persisted, artistes from outside would only be able to feature virtually.
“So far, we are working with the idea that should Covid-19 regulations relax, for the live events it will strictly be Bulawayo artistes. There might be one or two events where we ask artistes that are outside Bulawayo to send stuff digitally and we maybe do some digital screening.
So, if we are able to do the live ones maybe we can then supplement with a few events that are online. This is to ensure that we maybe maintain that diversity in terms of having artistes that are not just local,” he said.
The pandemic has dealt multiple blows to Intwasa, as the festival had managed to secure partnerships with willing collaborators from outside the country. While the partners were still looking at ways of making this a reality, the use of virtual platforms with no audience to witness the exploits of artistes, might steal the shine from what was promising to be a stellar edition of the festival.
“But as you are aware things are a bit difficult at the moment and even though people from outside Bulawayo that are interested might find themselves restricted and unable to do so. For example, we had secured a couple of partnerships with outside festivals. One was a UK festival that was supposed to bring several artistes to do workshops and performances but because of the restrictions on travel, that cannot happen anymore. We are still trying to pursue the online option and see if that’s still viable. But in terms of the value that live performance brings, it’s totally different,” he said.
