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This list is based on input from a number of people in the arts industry. We looked at people or groups who use their resources to market and promote other Zimbabwean artists besides themselves weather for profit or for other reasons.
The ranking on the list is based on the number of activities carried out, magnitude and reach of activities and number of artists influenced. The popularity of a promoter or the amount of media hype they receive is not a factor. We place a strong emphasis on how much a promoter’s work impacts on the development of the arts and on how much their work impacts the community at large.
Only promoters working within Zimbabwe are considered. While we recognise the important role played by the National Arts Council in this sector, being the body that governs the arts in the country, it is not considered for the list. Neither is the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation as it is the National Broadcaster and has no competition.
To all of the promoters on this list and those who are not here, thank you for keeping the arts in Zimbabwe alive. We celebrate you.
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1. Pamberi Trust
Pamberi Trust runs the Book Café and the Mannenberg, the only two venues in Zimbabwe that have live entertainment every single evening of the year except Sundays and on some public holidays. Their BOCAPA, House of Hunger Poetry Slam, Sistaz Open Mic, The Circle and other events and programmes touch artists from disciplines as diverse as Theatre and Spoken Word to Hip Hop and Jazz. Willom Tight, Kudzai Sevenzo, Sam Mtukudzi, Transit Crew, Raymond Majongwe, Victor Mavedzenge, Tongayi Chirisa, Comrade Fatso, Outspoken, Chiwoniso, Adam Chisvo and Andy Brown are a small sample of the artists that have benefited from their existence.
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2. Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA)
Manuel Bagorro, Maria Wilson and their team put on the biggest single arts events in Zimbabwe every single year. The 2009 festival marked the 10th Anniversary of this amazing six day event. HIFA provides an international platform for local artists to perform and to mingle with peers from all over the world. At this year’s festival there were 110 performances by local artists. There are few arts events in Africa that are as well put together and as looked forward to as HIFA.
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3. Amakhosi
It is not possible to talk about the arts in Zimbabwe without mentioning the name Cont Mhlanga. Since he founded Amakhosi in the early nineties the cultural centre has been at the forefront of artistic development in Matebeleland and of protest theatre that has inspired other artists to speak out against corruption and tyranny in the government. Amakhosi has and continues to work with numerous artists in various disciplines. Their Dreams to Fame programme has been running for 16 years and brings out hundreds of children to compete in various artistic forms. Their Khami Prison programme helps the rehabilitation of prisoners through theatre, song and dance. Beneficiaries of Amakhosi programmes include Sandra Ndebele, Otis Ngwabi, Dumi Sibanda of Spot FM, Dudu Manhenga and Sarah Mpofu.
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4. Chipaz Promotions
When Zimbabwe’s biggest artists have shows it seems they are turning more and more to Chipaz Promotions. Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso and Suluman Chimbetu have all had shows promoted by Partsion Chimbodza’s rising company. Remember the Africa Love Cholera Awareness Concert at Gwanzura Stadium in February this year? Remember the charity soccer match between soccer stars of yesteryear and the musicians’ team that featured Tuku, Macheso and Tongai Moyo? All of these were organised by Chipaz Promotions. There is no promotions company more visible in Zimbabwe today than Chipaz.
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5. Red Rose Entertainment
Run by the seemingly ageless Ms Barbara Chikosi, also known as Auntie Red Rose, Red Rose Entertainment has been putting together shows for many years now. They are responsible for a number of concerts featuring Zimbabwe’s top gospel divas including Mai Charamba and Fungisai Zvakavapano Mashavave. They also put together the first ever major gospel concert in Zimbabwe featuring only Vapostori music groups. Their King of the Dancehall show at the Harare Gardens earlier this year was a major success. They assisted in the organising of this year’s National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA). Their ground breaking Mbira Festival held in Coronation Park, Harare, in 2007 brought together more than 70 mbira groups.
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6. Radio Dialogue
At a time when the Zimbabwean economy was falling apart and the people of Bulawayo were feeling it just as badly as anyone else due to massive brain drain of their young people to South Africa and other countries, one priest started a venture that brought musical hope to the place known as the City of Kings. Radio Dialogue and its sister organisation Ingwe Studios were denied a broadcasting license. They decided to record local music and news and then distributed the tapes to be played in Commuter Omnibuses. Their recording studios which have some of the best equipment in Africa have recorded albums for the likes of Khuxxman, Albert Nyathi, Mcheznana and Zenzo Sibanda. Their mobile stage van has held concerts all over the city, bringing music and poetry to the people. They are involved with the annual Intwasa Arts Festival, Bulawayo’s biggest multi-disciplinary festival.
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7. Weaver Press
In the 10 years that Weaver Press has been around Irene Staunton and her partner Murray McCartney have become the leading publishers of literary fiction in the country. This amazing small team has managed to hold the banner for Zimbabwean literature while bigger publishing houses moved to focus on text books. It was their short story anthology, Writing Still, that featured Brian Chikwava’s Caine Prize winning story, 7th Street Alchemy. Weaver has worked with some of the most promising writers in Zimbabwe today. Petina Gappah, Blessing Musariri, Shimmer Chinodya, Valerie Tagwira, Julius Chingono, John Eppel, Wonder Guchu and Chenjerai Hove are some of the writers who have been published by Weaver. When Irene Staunton speaks, the publishing world listens.
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8. Rooftop Promotions
Their Theatre in the Park schedule is one of the busiest live theatre diaries in the country. Daves Guzha's Rooftop Promotions has revealed to us, and provided a platform for, many of the brightest young actors in the country today. Tafadzwa Muzondo, Eunice Tava, Chipo Bizure, Hillary Indi, Vimbai Zimuto and John Pfumojena are just some of the new talents that have taken part in Rooftop's productions. Rooftop is also responsible for some of the most memorable plays of our time, including Super Patriots and Morons, The Good President, Threads, Pregnant with Emotion and Strange Bedfellows. Over the last few years Rooftop has also been responsible for managing the Zimbabwe Music Awards, the Victoria Falls Jazz Festival and the SADC Artists AIDS Festival.
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9. Zimbabwe College of Music
Though under resourced and struggling like other entities in a challenging Zimbabwean economy, the Zimbabwe College of Music is responsible for instilling a deeper knowledge of music into many musicians. From Prudence Katomeni Mbofana, Chiwoniso, Hope Masike, Theresa Muteta, Thanda Richardson, Dudu Manhenga and others, the college is a veritable cooking pot for young stars.
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10. Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF)
It would be very difficult indeed to talk of artistic expression through film in Zimbabwe if ZIFF did not exist. Their short film project has mentored film makers like Ben Mahaka, Michele Mathison, Yeukai Ndarimani, Patience Gamu Tawengwa, Marion Kunonga, Beautie Masvaure, Heeten Bhagat and many others.
Other
Other Notables
Other notable promoters of the arts that made it to the list but not to the top ten are The National Galleries of Zimbabwe (Harare and Bulawayo), REPS Theatre, Sam Mataure, Patsime Trust, Savanna Arts, CBZ A Academy, AmaBooks and the Dance Trust of Zimbabwe and Grammar Records.
This is our first survey of this kind and we realise that we may have made some omissions, glaring ones even. We hope not, but if so, please suggest other notable promoters in the comments section.
http://www.zimbojam.com/culture/inside-art/699-zimbabwes-top-10-arts-promoters-2009.html
- Team Zimbo Jam |
