The Sunday News
Bruce Chimani Sunday Leisure Correspondent
THE just-ended Shangano Arts and Culture Festival which was held in Lupane proved to many that big foreign artistes are not the magic behind a festival’s success as it maintained its uniqueness and lived to its objective of bringing together artistes from all over Matabeleland North Province to showcase their talents.The festival, which is in its eighth year running, was unique in that it did not “import” artistes from outside Matabeleland North but still attracted a full house, a feat that made it different from other festivals.
The venue — Lupane Hall was packed to the brim as people from all over the province thronged it to witness the eighth edition of the arts jamboree.
Artistes from the province, who included the likes of Lusumbami Puppetry, Obert Dube, Vulindlela, Shaba Arts from Tsholotsho, Makishi, Likhwa Ncube, Ihawu Lesizwe, Lusupuko, Kwabana, Chilimba Binga Sounds and Tshibilika Guru. Chase Skuza treated the locals to mellow music, chic poetry, synchronised dances and eye-catching cultural artifacts.
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe deputy director Nicholas Moyo praised the festival organisers for their commitment to showcase art from Matabeleland North, avoiding the temptation of hiring “guest artistes” who would steal the show from the local gang.
He said it completely undid the currently held “misnotion” that a festival should have a big name performing to spruce up its tag and make it bold.
“We have seen festivals all over the country and one thing that has set this particular one apart from the rest is how much we saw local talent being promoted. All the acts and the exhibitions we saw are authentically from the province and that is a good thing in many ways,” Moyo said.
He added: “Noticeably, whenever such festivals are held, organisers usually bring in big names from other provinces to ‘spice up’ their event. When the event is in Matabeleland, usually artistes from Bulawayo are sought after as guest artistes while for the Mashonaland festivals, artistes from Harare are sought out. This is bad because people from these provinces start comparing their own artistes with the seasoned ‘guest’ artistes who are invited yet the whole essence is the promotion of local products and their producers.”
Artistes living with various disabilities were also present and this was in line with the festival’s plunge towards inclusivity.
The Shangano Arts and Culture Festival, which ran from last week Thursday in Lupane and ended in Hwange, also saw an Arts Management Workshop being held for arts administrators. The workshop was held in Lupane and was facilitated by Moyo where artistes were taught to take the arts as business and not just as a pastime activity.
Some of the issues that were discussed included Strategic Planning in Arts, Marketing in the Arts, Advertising Platforms, New Media and Publicity Tools.
These according to NACZ were vital for the artistes who wanted to invest in the arts industry and yield something from their labour.
The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Andrew Langa officially opened the festival before touring the exhibition outside Lupane Hall where various artifacts were displayed.
