The Sunday News
Arts Focus, Raisedon Baya
DEAR reader, can you pause for a minute and try to picture the very image of what you think best describes a Zimbabwean artiste. What do you see? What really comes to your mind when you think about art and artistes in this country? I know there are thousands and thousands of artistes in this country and that it would be near impossible to try and use one image to describe all of them. But again there must be one image that immediately flies to your mind as you try and ponder about Zimbabwean artistes and their situation.
So I ask again, what is it you see? Do you see an articulate, well-dressed and successful looking being as your typical artiste?
Someone you can want to be associated with? Or do you see someone hesitant, a bit lost, shabby looking, and not clear about who or what they are about? Or perhaps all you see is a poor, confused and unemployed chap who spends most of his/her time in the street — someone who is more unemployed than employed? What image really flies to your mind, dear reader?
I will be honest with you. I would have loved that the very image you see to be any of the following:
1 A young prosperous dancer or theatre actor, clad in a good suit and talking about how much money they make a year.
2 A visual artiste telling you how many international exhibitions they have been part of since they turned professional or how many pieces of their art they have sold.
3 A filmmaker telling you how much their latest film grossed in local or regional markets or what international projects they are part of.
4 A musician telling you how many international tours and collaborations they have done and how much their latest album has sold.
I think for many of you the last image might actually be easier to conjure. So many stories of success including Oliver Mtukudzi, Jah Prayzah, Mukoomba and Winky D have been peddled by our media. Half of what was written on the entertainment pages last year was about these four musicians/groups mentioned above. Yes. It is actually very possible to talk about our music and the success of our musicians with our heads held high. Every time a discussion on the successes of Zimbabwean arts sector crops up anywhere the best examples given are those from music. But this picture, easy as it may seem to conjure, tends to support the bias that local media has towards music and all things musical. However, the arts are not just music. The arts are diverse and varied.
For one I wish the media would tell us more about successes in visual arts besides, beyond, Dominic Benhura. Are there any good stories in the sector to inspire young people who may want to venture into the arts, and not necessarily into music?
What are the success stories around dance save perhaps the Iyasa story? Of course, Iyasa has done well for them and they are an inspiration. But every year little is said about them except the one or two paragraphs telling us the day they leave for Europe and the day they come back. Last year alone the group won a prestigious award in Austria but no one made any noise about it here.
There are three young ladies that started with Iyasa and now move around the globe with an international theatre company yet no story has been done about them. What are the real success stories about Zimbabwean theatre? Who is making waves?
Who is gracing international stages? Is Danai Gurira the only Zimbabwean thespian to make it to Broadway? If so why are there no pages and pages about her success? At least something to inspire the next generation. What happened to Lucian Musamati? What is Arnold Chirisa up to now?
And what is happening with our film sector? Are we producing any watchable films? What are audiences saying about local films? So far all we hear about are movies that die on premiere days. Sadly, we never get to hear about what happens to these movies after they premiere.
The honest truth is that the survival of local arts heavily depends on local media. The attitude of the media towards local art and artists has a serious bearing on their future. It is sad and painful to see South African art and artists dominate local entertainment pages the way they do. Attitudes must change in 2017. More entertainment pages must be dedicated to local art and artistes.
