The popular SISTAZ OPEN MIC event at The Book Café celebrated it’s third year in January 2010.  The venue was packed to capacity.  With over 30 women artists participating in the 3 hour performance, the energy levels could not be contained.  They danced, they sang, they waxed lyrical.  They kicked off strongly and kept the audience satisfied; what they promised, they delivered!

Sistaz Open Mic returns this Saturday 13 February at the Book Cafe with another high-energy afternoon on the eve of St Valentine’s Day, a colourful line-up of both emerging and established women artists spreading love through music, poetry and dance, from 2-5pm.

Sistaz Open Mic, a come-hang-out-feel-good-and-forget-your-strife kind of space, was established for emerging women artists to come out to a public stage and do their ‘thang’ in the safety of daytime.  A development platform that nurtures talent across all ages, Sistaz Open Mic falls under Pamberi Trust’s gender project F.L.A.M.E (Female Literary Arts & Music Enterprise), which has been running since 2007.

FLAME workshops continue this year with “Workshops for Women Artistes by Women Artistes”.  These workshops which are developed and facilitated by experienced women artistes are a testimony of the unselfish dedication by the artistes themselves to improve their standing in the arts industry.  

In January, a FLAME workshop hosted the first of several modules of the ‘Creative Enterprise Course’ developed by The British Council and previously presented to arts practitioners in 2009 in cooperation with the Zimbabwe Culture Fund.  The first module covered Branding and Entrepreneurship, and others will be staggered through the year, aimed at women artists who are at the level of serious business in the arts, already established among local fans but needing to strengthen their capacity for effective management and further promotion.  FLAME gender projects officer Batsirai Chigama had this to say: “The turn-out was great, the level of engagement of high quality and FLAME would like to thank the British Council and Zimbabwe Culture Fund for developing the training material for this workshop which we believe will be of great value to women artistes.”

This month Sistaz Open Mic welcomes into its fold Tererai Mugwadi with a new ensemble ‘Made in Zim’ who will be performing directly after the Open Mic from 5:30-7pm with a lively mixed bag of genres, from traditional to calypso and reggae.  Tererai Mugwadi has been on the music scene for a while now and is widely known for her collaboration with Alexio Kawara in his popular love song ‘Tinodanana’.  She recently returned from South Africa where she was studying for a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences.  Since her return, Tererai has been working with the band Made in Zim which features the vocal prowess of Foromani and i-Free Mungweme and they are beginning to stage shows in Zimbabwe.

Expected to take to stage is young and vocally gifted songstress Uzanele.  Poetess, Zion Dawta formerly known as Sister Fire will also be among a line-up of over twenty diverse acts expected to claim the mic.

 

Come feel the love.  There is a friendly cover charge of US$1.00, and a warm invitation to relax and ‘chill out’ for the enjoyment of a great line-up.  Performers should register with Tatenda at The Book Café before the show starts at 2pm.

 

Batsirai E Chigama

For Pamberi Trust