Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
BULAWAYO artistes will end this year empty-handed after organisers of the annual ROIL Bulawayo Arts Awards (RBAAs) announced that this year’s ceremony would not be taking place, as they feel that the quality and quantity of their work this year was not up to par.
Established in 2017, the RBAAs have grown to become the crowning glory of the Bulawayo arts scene, bringing honour and glamour to artistes that had often claimed that they are sidelined by other award ceremonies in the country.
Since their inception, the RBAAs have also rejuvenated award ceremonies in the country, with some of Zimbabwe’s older and more established platforms following its lead and copying some of its best bits.
However, in what was meant to be its eighth edition, organisers of the ceremony have announced that the awards will not be taking place this year.
“The Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards Trust wishes to inform all artistes, partners, stakeholders, and supporters of the postponement of the 8th edition of the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards. This decision was not made lightly, as we carefully considered various factors that contribute to the awards’ stature and success,” the statement read.
THE Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (RBAAs)
According to the Trust, the decision to postpone the awards was made after the realisation that in some genres, not enough submissions had been made.
They also announced that the award ceremony would now take place over the Heroes Day holiday next year.
“While we recognise and appreciate the exceptional quality of work produced by many artists over the past calendar year, we also noted a limited representation across certain genres. To ensure that we have a comprehensive selection of works, we have decided to reschedule the awards to the Heroes Holiday in August 2025. In addition to celebrating arts excellence, the awards will run with the sub-theme ‘Celebrating Our Heroes’ for the 8th edition,” the organisers said.
While there had been no indication that the RBAAs were struggling with sponsorship, the Trust said that they would use the additional time that the postponement afforded them to canvass for more support. They also encouraged artistes to get their ducks in a row in the next few months.
“This postponement will allow for a broader pool of artistic achievements and give us, as organisers, the opportunity to seek additional partnerships and sponsors. We aim to make the 8th edition even more impactful and memorable than previous years.
“This additional time will also allow the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards Trust to rebrand, introduce new faces, incorporate fresh ideas, and work toward delivering an exciting and dynamic awards ceremony in 2025. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and continued support as we work to celebrate and elevate the incredible talent within our arts community,” the statement read.
The postponement will come as a gut punch to artistes in the city, as the ceremony had become a trademark, capping off their work for the year. In a city where artistes usually cry about marginalisation, the RBAAs were a thoughtful gesture that brought much needed recognition to artistes that felt that they were under-appreciated in the past.
BAA Trophies
From the red carpet to the performances, RBAAs were a breath of fresh air, raising the standard for other award ceremonies in the country.
Given the reasons for the postponement given by the organisers, questions will now be asked about the output of city artistes in what has been a relatively quiet 2024 for the arts.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Dalubuhle Sibanda of Umahlekisa Entertainment said that the postponement of the awards was indeed a blow, as the RBAAs were now the city’s flagship event.
“What we tend to understate about the RBAAs is that they are a flagship event that carries Bulawayo arts. If you look at it holistically, we are talking about probably the best award ceremony in the country so shelving them particularly at this time of the year comes as a blow to artistes, no doubt. I haven’t heard a chance to find out the reason why this year’s awards are not happening, but I hope its not a financial issue because if there’s one initiative that we really need to get behind, it is this one,” he said.
Sibanda said the ceremony was not only bringing the spotlight to winners, but to attendees and performers.
“Somehow, we need to grow the RBAAs and refine them because for the average Bulawayo artiste, I can say that this is something that they were working with in mind. When they started work for the year, they would have imagined that they would be rewarded at the RBAAs if all went well. It meant a lot for certain careers and I am not talking about just the winners. For some, just being nominated and even performing at the awards was a great enough honour.
“In addition to that, RBAAs are the highlight of our calendar. They had replaced Kalawa in the sense that they were now that one thing that we could all look forward to. I know that there’s the Bulawayo Shutdown, it doesn’t have that connection with the city that the awards have. So, without the awards we have a big gap in our calendar, and it leaves the Comedy Roast of Sandra Ndebele as the biggest event put together by the arts this year.
So, when all is said and done, we hope this is just a postponement and not a cancellation,” he said.
