Category: General

20th NAMA CALL FOR ENTRIES

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) would like to advise stakeholders in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) including production houses, studios, stables, galleries, organisations, associations, groups, artists, monitors and/or that the period for the submission of entries for the 20^th National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) will be open from the 1^st of September to the 30^th of November 2021.

Consideration of selection for the 20^th edition of NAMA to be held in February 2022, will only be given to artworks published in the past 2 years covering the period from 1^st December 2019 to 30^th November 2021. ONLY Zimbabwean citizens or those with Zimbabwean resident status can enter their work. Practitioners that have outstanding works published during the stated period can submit them at the following:

• NACZ Head office in Mount Pleasant, Harare.
• NACZ Provincial offices (Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, Masvingo Lupane, Gwanda, Bindura, Chinhoyi and Marondera).
• Murewa Culture Centre,
• National Gallery of Zimbabwe (Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare

Entry forms can also be obtained from any of the above offices, registered Arts Associations and, Organisations in Zimbabwe. In addition, Online Entries can be submitted through the link: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSew_QD-qWRaaRe94MxHcNzYEKIIKlU0mzF0956lK23RcAFWTQ/viewform). Entry forms can also be accessed through the NACZ website: www.natartszim.org.zw. For online submissions, supporting materials may still need to be submitted in person at the above-listed places for use in the adjudication.

All entries must be accompanied by the artiste’s product(s). These could be in the form of videotapes, cassettes, flash drives, CDs, pictures or books. Individuals submitting works for NAMA are encouraged to supply three sets of the particular works/production to assist adjudicators, except where the product is from the visual arts category. The NAMA disciplines that are adjudicated are dance, film, literary arts, theatre, music, visual arts, media and spoken word.

NAMA recognizes outstanding achievements within the arts sector by rewarding excelling artists. The awards seek to encourage creativity and excellence in the quality of the arts, inspire artists to strive for higher and original forms of creativity and provide an opportunity for arts disciplines to jointly market and publicize their products locally, regionally and internationally.

ZIMBABWE AND UGANDA IN FILM COLLABORATION

Zimbabwean company, Gesh23 Productions has teamed up with Uganda’s King Paul Media Entertainment (KPM) to produce a short film titled “Find Me”.

The film, a product of the inaugural NACZ/PIFF Africa 2021 Film Festival, was penned by Ugandan Paul Ssebata and is to be directed by comedian Madlela Sikhobokhobo.

The producer of the film, Award-Winning filmmaker Marshal Mpofu of Bulawayo based Gesh 23 Productions said the collaboration is the beginning of many such enterprises which will see his company producing films written by Ssebata.

“The NACZ/PIFF is the one that made us meet with Paul. It provided a platform where we shared our experiences on filmmaking and from those discussions we came up with this strategy where he writes films and we cast and produce them in Zimbabwe” he said.

The collaboration will work on the strengths of the Ugandans in scriptwriting and storytelling while Gesh23 will utilise its strength to cast and produce the films.

Ssebata said the partnership will help in promoting culture between both countries and attract tourists to visit Africa after watching content from filmmakers that tell stories of Africa.

“Furthermore, this will also allow us to connect with the international market, increase the education and level of film production in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Africa at large,” he said.

NACZ/PIFF Africa Coordinator Ms Farai Kupfavira, who is also the Provincial Arts Manager for the Midlands province welcomed the partnership and said she expected more collaborations to come out of the continental film showcase.

“This is a stepping stone not only for both NACZ and PIFF but also for the country at large. We hope this partnership will grow and spur further success for the Cultural and Creative Industry not only in Zimbabwe and Uganda, but the whole of Africa as represented by participants in the festival,” she said.

The president/founder of UCCI the parent company of PIFF Global and PIFF Africa, Ed “Umoja” Herman said he was overjoyed to see the collaboration efforts between companies from different countries in Africa moving forward positively.

“The collaboration that is now underway between KPM Entertainment in Uganda and Gesh 23 Production in Zimbabwe shows that the work we set out to do is having positive results as PIFF Africa. We hope this is the first of many to come,” he said.

“Find Me,” tells the story of a couple that experiences a bad beginning to their marriage. The wife mysteriously disappears leaving everyone thinking the husband had something to do with her disappearance. It chronicles the story of the husband’s investigation to find out the truth about what happened to his wife.

The short film will be shot in and around Bulawayo featuring a cast of Award-winning Actors including Antonate Sango, Marshal Mpofu, Ben Chest, Bhekimpilo Makhwelo and other supporting actors.

We Are Hiring: National Arts Merit Awards Intern

Applications are invited from suitably qualified individuals to fill the positions that have arisen within the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe as listed below:

1. POSITION: National Arts Merits Awards Intern.

2. PERIOD: A fixed period of employment which may be renewed upon satisfactory performance up to a maximum of two years.

3. QUALIFICATIONS

• A degree in arts, social sciences or equivalent.
• Must have great interest in the Arts and Culture industry.
• Must be a University or College leaver who is looking forward to a career in Arts.
• Must be computer literate.

4. DUTIES

The duties and responsibilities will include the following:
i. Report to the Head in -charge of NAMA
ii. Encourage Arts Organizations to participate in the 20th NAMA edition.
iii. Assist in the completion and submission of NAMA entries.
iv. Liaising with different NAMA adjudicating Committees
v. Keep a register of 20th NAMA entries and ensuring safekeeping of the entries.
vi. Produce a report of NAMA entries and progress as at and when required.
vii. Taking minutes during adjudicator’s committee meetings.
viii. Liaising with NAMA event manager.
ix. Carry out any other duties related to the 20th NAMA edition as directed by the supervisor.

Interested candidates should submit an application letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae no later than 15th August 2021 to:

The Director
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
Education Services Centre, Mount Pleasant
P O Box 10463
HARARE
Or Send To
Email: naczvacancies@gmail.com

FOUNDING NACZ DIRECTOR DEREK HUGGINS DIES

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has mourned the death of its Founding Director, veteran arts administrator, writer and publisher Derek Huggins (81) who died in Harare yesterday.

In a statement, NACZ Director Mr Nicholas Moyo said Derek was a towering figure in the Cultural and Creative industries of Zimbabwe as the Chief Executive of the National Arts Foundation from 1975 to 1985 when it was transformed through an act of parliament to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and he subsequently became the founding Director of the NACZ, a position he held until 1988.

” Derek dedicated his life to the development of the Arts sector in Zimbabwe having established Gallery Delta to provide an exhibition space for contemporary paintings, graphics, textiles and ceramics of the highest standard possible. The gallery provided a home for many adventurous young black visual artists who were mentored and developed their talents,” Mr Moyo said.

Gallery Delta opened its doors to the public in 1975 with Derek and his wife, NAMA Legend Helen Leiros, as the proprietors of the centre which they designated for the promotion of contemporary painting and they managed to groom many artists including Hilary Kashiri, Fasoni Sibanda, Ishmael Wilfred, James Jali, Lovemore Kambudzi, and others handpicked from the annual ‘Young Artists’ exhibitions, as they finished their studies, and gradually emerged as important painters in the country.

” The death of Derek has dealt a big blow to Delta Gallery and the Nation at large coming just days after the passing on of his wife Helen who was a seasoned visual artist and was at the core of teaching and mentoring young artists at the centre,” the director said.

During his illustrious career, Derek he published Arts Rhodesia and Arts Zimbabwe. He published Gallery, the art magazine, from 1994 to 2002, to which he was also a frequent contributor. For over thirty years, he intermittently wrote short stories and his first anthology of stories: Stained Earth was published in 2005. His other published works include Writing Still (2003), Short Writings from Bulawayo vols. I and II, and Writing Now (2005). The Letters of Yvonne Vera and Derek Huggins‚ 2002-2004, are lodged in the archive at the National English Literature Museum of South Africa at Grahamstown.

“The sector will never be the same without Derek and we hope the trustees of the Gallery Delta Foundation for Art and the Humanities which was established in 2008 will be able to carry on the work of Derek and his wife to ensure the gallery continues to carry on their legacy of promoting the visual arts and young artists in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Moyo.

At the time of his death, Derek was still the Managing Director of Gallery Delta. May his Soul Rest in Peace.

 

NAMA LEGEND HELEN LIEROS DIES

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has expressed shock at the death of the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) Legend, Helen Lieros one of Zimbabwe’s finest painters belonging to a special group of the most enthusiastic teachers of art the nation has ever seen.

In a statement, NACZ Director Mr Nicholas Moyo said Helen was a visual artist par excellence, with several artworks on the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

” Her death is particularly sad for the sector coming so soon after her recognition by the government as one of the Living Legends of the Cultural and Creative Industries in Zimbabwe”, Moyo said.

Born in 1940 in Gweru, Helen, together with her husband Dereck Huggins, established Gallery Delta which has been very instrumental in nurturing a lot of young visual artists by giving them space to flaunt their respective aesthetic talents.

Mr Moyo said Helen had an incredible knack for identifying and nurturing artistic talent, and regularly imparted her invaluable visual arts skills to many artists, assisting them to blossom into top-notch creatives.

“With the death of Helen, Zimbabwe has lost an exceptionally talented practitioner and arts administrator who contributed to the growth and development of the visual arts by putting the sector on the world’s artistic map,” the Director said.

May her Soul Rest In Peace

AU UNVEILS CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR AFRIMA 2021

Call for entries starts on June 28 at 12.00noon (CAT)

The African Union, in partnership with the International Committee of the All-African Music Awards, AFRIMA, has formally unveiled the calendar of events for the upcoming 2021 edition of the awards ceremony. The unveiling event took place at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 23, 2021.

The unveiling activity marks the formal opening of AFRIMA 2021 and features a line-up of undertakings and events that would take place between June 20 and November 21, 2021.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union, the Director of health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Cisse Mariama Mohamed, noted that “The COVID pandemic resulted in multiple setbacks for the continent, but AFRIMA is a commitment to uniting the continent through entertainment and honouring their tradition of celebrating the scintillating musical culture of Africa by featuring exhilarating Pan-Africa events through the lifespan of the calendar year in 2021 and we are looking forward to celebrating the richness of the African continent alongside AFRIMA in November this year”.

According to a document signed by Mrs Mohamed, the submission of entries, marks the first official event of the 2021 AFRIMA calendar and officially opens globally on www.afrima.org to African music professionals either living on the continent or in the diaspora from Monday, June 28, by 12:00noon Central African Time (CAT) and closes on Friday, August 20, 2021. Further details on entry submission guidelines are available on the AFRIMA website (www.afrima.org).

The submission of songs and videos must be produced or released under the year in review i.e. June 1, 2020, to August 20, 2021. African music artists, managers, producers, record label owners, recording companies, video directors, Disc Jockeys, Choreographers/dancers, and international acts are eligible to submit their works or submit on behalf of their clients via the official AFRIMA website www.afrima.org for a possible nomination in one or more of the forty (40) categories of AFRIMA.

In 2019, Zimbabwean RnB star Hillzy, who is based in Cape Town, South won an All-Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) award in the category of Best Artist, Duo or Group in African R&B & Soul for his collaboration with Garry Mapanzure on TV Room.

Other activities slated on the calendar includes a ‘Pre-Screening process, where submitted entries will go through screening carried out by the Screening Committee of AFRIMA. The screening process would be done within the period of August 21 to 28 2021, after which the International Jury of AFRIMA comprising a 13-man panel of experienced, respected African music experts and practitioners will carry out the AFRIMA Adjudication process from August 29th to September 6th.

The Adjudication process involves the international jury members carefully and painstakingly assessing and selecting the very best amongst submitted entries to occupy the AFRIMA 2021 Nominees’ List. On completion, a ‘World Media Announcement of AFRIMA 2021 Nominees’ List’ will take place on September 7th to publicly unveil the African artists and works by Africans in Africa and the diaspora that have been nominated.

On September 8 the AFRIMA Academy as well as African music fans and followers around the globe begin to participate in the ‘AFRIMA Public Voting’ process to be conducted on www.afrima.org during which the 2021 nominees will receive votes that could lead them to emerge winners in the various categories of the awards. The voting process, which closes 24 hours before the main awards ceremony, would be monitored and audited by a reputable International Auditing Firm.

Finally, the main awards ceremony, set to hold from November 18th to November 2021 in the host city, features a three-day fiesta of music, glamour, Afrocentrism and entertainment. The event commences with the Welcome Soiree followed by the AFRIMA Music Village, the Host City Tour, the Africa Music Business Summit, and the exclusive Nominees Party and concluded with the live Awards Ceremony.

According to the Fans of African music globally can follow along and take part in the AFRIMA 2021 events on social media, live stream on the AFRIMA website, the AFRIMA App and by tuning to over 84 television stations that are AFRIMA partners.

In partnership with the African Union Commission, (AUC), the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, is the pinnacle of African music awards globally. AFRIMA is a music and cultural initiative developed to celebrate, reward and showcase the rich musical heritage of Africa, stimulate conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the globe about the great potentials and values of the African culture and artistic legacy to create jobs, reduce poverty, calling the attention of world leaders to Africa and promoting the positive image of Africa to the world.

LOCAL EXPERT SELECTED FOR INTERNATIONAL PANEL

Veteran Arts Administrator Mr Farai Mpfunya has been selected to the International Programme Advisory Committee (IPAC) for the 9th World Summit on Arts and Culture, which is scheduled to take place in Stockholm, Sweden from 31 May-3 June 2022.

In a statement, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) said Mr Mupfunya is part of a seven-member panel that has been tasked with developing a world-class programme that will explore issues pertaining to the safeguarding of artistic freedom from different angles including examining a diverse range of lived experiences and perspectives.

“The Summit will address the theme of Safeguarding Artistic Freedom and will bring together leading policymakers, researchers, managers and practitioners from the arts, culture and related sectors from around the world”, said the IFACCA.

Mr Mpfunya is the founding Executive Director of the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that drives active social transformation by working with communities, investing in innovative and sustainable creative sector capacities, and mainstreaming culture in sustainable development.

“Cohosted by IFACCA and the Swedish Arts Council the global summit will explore artistic freedom as a fundamental pillar of cultural policy and also consider the conditions for its existence, including rights and responsibilities, and examine how it can and should be safeguarded,” the statement said.

The appointment is in line with a model adopted for the 8th World Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other members of the panel are IPAC Chair, Mr Olu Alake (United Kingdom), Mr Brook Andrew (Wiradjuri/Celtic, Australia), Mr Alfons Karabuda (Sweden), Ms Pamela Lopez (Chile), Ms Anupama Sekhar (India) and Ms Farida Shaheed (Pakistan).

NATIONAL HERO, COMPOSER AND WRITER FATHER RIBEIRO LAID TO REST

Prominent Roman Catholic Cleric Father Ribeiro has been buried at the National Heroes Acre becoming the first priest to be buried at the sacred shrine.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the late cleric, writer and composer led an exemplary that the country’s youth should be inspired to live vice free lives, shun drugs and corruption.

“We thus, mourn a great son of the soil, a Roman Catholic priest, Father (Baba), a brother, a comrade, composer and novelist. He worked tirelessly and used his diverse talents to nurture the souls of many people in our beloved country,” said the President.

The late father Ribeiro, died last Thursday at St Anne’s hospital in Harare after a short illness had a long career in the catholic church as a cleric and composer of church hymns.

In his condolence message, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) Director Mr Nicholas Moyo described the late father Ribeiro as one of the pioneering writers in the native language during the colonial era.

“His first two Shona novels Muchadura (1967) and Tonderai (1969) winning him prizes in competitions arranged by the Rhodesia Literature Bureau. Muchadura also sold a record-breaking 3000 copies and has been used as secondary schools set book”, Moyo said.

In a wide-ranging career in the arts, Fr also wrote Shona epilogues for the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation’s African Service for two years and was also a correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Mr Moyo said the late Priest was also a prolific music composer having composed his first Roman Catholic Church song “Gamuchirai Mambo” in 1961. He composed 17 catholic church songs including Alleluia Munyika Dzose, Tauya Nezvipo Zvemupiro, Mambo Mwari Wamasimba, Hwayana yaMwari, and Mwari Ngaarumbidzwe amongst others.

Father Ribeiro also undertook and executed with distinction important national assignments. He was the head of the committee which composed the country’s national anthem and was part of the committee which designed Zimbabwe’s national flag.

“The late Priest has left a rich legacy for the country in his literary and musical works which have inspired many. These works have stood the test of time and have become part of the country’s cultural and political heritage”, Moyo said.

Revised African Union plan of action validated

The Validation Workshop on the Revised African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) has called for the Ratification and Implementation of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance
The Validation Workshop was organized to gather inputs from AU Member States experts and cultural and creative industries workers before its presentation for adoption to the AU Policy Organs
The AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) was adopted during the 2nd Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Culture (CAMC2) held in Algiers, Algeria in 2008.
The AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries is a revised edition of the Dakar Plan of Action of 1992 prepared in the spirit of the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997). The Republic of Zimbabwe and cultural and creative workers proposed the review of the Plan of Action. The proposed review was then approved by the Specialized Technical Committee on Youth, Culture and Sport held in Algiers, Algeria in October 2018.
The proposed review of the AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries aimed at ensuring that current trends on the African creative economy and internationally were included in the African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries and it also strongly focused on potential areas for the development of the creative economy sector on the continent.
As such, the Revised African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries has identified eight (8) key areas that can contribute to the development of Cultural and Creative Industries in Africa. These areas are:
• Markets for Africa’s Cultural and Creative Industries
• Education, Capacity Building and Sustainability
• Finance and Investment
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
• Cultural Infrastructure
• Cultural and Creative Industry Statistics; and
• Social Inclusion and Cohesion
The review of the Plan of Action was concluded in April 2020 and the Validation Workshop was organized to gather inputs from AU Member States experts and cultural and creative industries workers before its presentation for adoption to the AU Policy Organs.
During the opening, Ms Cisse Mariama Mohamed, Director for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) welcomed participants of the Validation Workshop of the Revised African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries. Director reiterated that the Revised African Union Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries envisions an innovative, integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa, where cultural and creative industries are the cornerstone of inclusive and sustainable development driven by its people and rich heritage.
She used the opportunity to also inform the participants that the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance which was adopted in 2006 has entered into force, and called for the Member States to implement this continental policy tool. Ms Cisse Mariama Mohamed further requested support in advocating for the ratification and implementation of the Statute of the African Audio Visual and Cinema Commission (AACC) which the Government of Kenya has graciously offered to host.

“We need urgently to operationalize the AACC, a Specialized Agency of the African Union so that it starts implementing its programmes and promote the production and marketing of our creative products on the continent and in the world at large,” the Director emphasized.
Mr Daves Guzha, Chairperson of the Bureau of the Pan-African Cultural Congress (PACC5) in his statement of support acknowledged the support and the trust which the AU Commission has provided to the Technical Working Group since 2018 when the review process started.
Dr Thokozile Chitepo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Sport Arts and Recreation in Zimbabwe reiterated the country’s commitment to the process of revising the AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries. In her statement of support, she said the Republic of Zimbabwe will continue to provide its support to enable African cultures and creative industries to thrive.
The workshop, which was a working session, provided inputs and recommendations on the Revised Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries which will allow it to move to the next stage.

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11 COUNTRIES FOR PIFF-AFRICA 2021 FILM FESTIVAL

TWENTY THREE (23) film entries from 11 African countries have been selected to participate in the inaugural edition of the PIFF-Africa 2021 Film Festival.

The festival which is a partnership between the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and the Piton International Film Festival (PIIF) will run virtually from the 13th to the 23rd of May 2021.

Farai Kupfavira the NACZ Provincial Arts Manager for Midlands Province and the Programme Coordinator says there has been an overwhelming response from the continent to take part in the initiative to promote filmmakers who are based in Africa.

“ At the close of submissions on the 17th of April, we had received 23 films from 11 African Countries which include, South Africa, Morocco, Uganda, Cameroon and 2 films from Zimbabwe were submitted”, she said.

Kupfavira said the themes and storylines for the submitted films were varied and included topical and hot issues that affect the African continent.

“ The issues tackled in the films are wide and they include Gender-Based-Violence and Sexuality which are prevalent in many countries even outside the African continent”, she said.

Ed “Umoja” Herman the President and Founder of PIFF was also ecstatic about the entries to the festival which only opened in January.

“From music videos to full feature projects, PIFF-Africa is proud to see the level of work that has come to us and we will use our global platform to assist the filmmakers in getting their brand to more locations,” he said.

Umoja said PIFF will showcase the films during the festival and work with the filmmakers to monetize their content.

“Because we are based on the collaborative spirit we will be working with the filmmakers who are interested in monetizing work after the festival. Much thanks to all the filmmakers who have submitted to PIFF-Africa 2021 we look forward to building a long working relationship with you”, Umoja said.

The PIFF-Africa 2021 is a 12-month initiative that focuses on celebrating filmmaking and seeks to work collaboratively with filmmakers who are based in Africa providing a unique opportunity for Filmmakers for education, collaboration, and celebration, instead of competition.