National Arts Council of Zimbabwe

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) was set up in 1985 as a parastatal meant to foster the understanding and practice of arts as well as the exhibition of such activities. It is also a cultural institution, a mainstay of arts development and it works in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture though it has long been demanding to have a ministry which specifically deals with the cultural spectrum. Events such as the Chibuku Road To Fame, Chibuku Neshamwari, Zimbabwe Culture Week, Zimbabwe Arts and Culture Indaba, the Jikinya Traditional Dance Festivals were initiated by the NACZ.

Aims and Objectives

NACZ's mandate has been to promote and to add value to the artistic endeavours within the country. It was also mandated to identify and develop talent.^[1] This has seen the creation of numerous events such as the Chibuku Road To Fame.

The council was also supposed to buttress the country's cultural heritage through arts.^[1] This also gave birth to festivals such as the Jikinya Traditional Dance Festivals, Zimbabwe Culture Week, Intwasa Arts Festival among others.

Achievements

In 1998, for the very first time, a board was appointed to transform and restructure the council.^[1] This was meant to necessitate the identification of artistes. Since 1998, the director of the council has been Titus Chipangura who has been managing the council with the assistance of elected board members.^[2]

It was believed that the board lobbied successfully for the policy of 75% local content on all radios and televisions stations in the country.^[1] This was seen as a major step towards exposing local musicians in the country. It was also reported that this move was however one of the numerous control mechanism by the increasingly paranoid Zimbabwe African National Union's (ZANU PF) government.

In 2001, the council initiated the formation of arts councils in countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.^[1] It was also a founding member of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA).^[1]

In 2006, the council took over the administration of Murewa Culture House which was in the hands of the Ministry of Education.^[1] This became a launch pad for artistes to exhibit their talents. The popular Jerusalem and Mbende Dance Groups began to hold competitions which resulted in the exposure of the dances to the general population. During the same year, the council was able to produce its first Zimbabwe Arts Directory which was amended in 2011.^[3] The council was aided by the Spanish Embassy and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).^[3]

In 2010, there was the Cell-ebrity Funeral Cover after the council brokered a deal with the Cell Funeral Assurance of Zimbabwe.^[1] By implication, artistes registered with the council now had a funeral policy. During the same year, there was the establishment of the Zimbabwe Arts and Culture Indaba in collaboration with the British Council and UNESCO whose aim was to discuss, deliberate and recommend policies meant to ensure that the council would fulfil its mandate.^[4] The Zimbabwean Arts and Culture thus became an annual event though the council has been financially constrained to such an extent that in some cases it failed to host the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA).^[5]

Famous Festivals and Events

The council has been working in cohorts with various companies and organisations to identify and nurture artistes. Some of the most famous events and festivals held under the banner of the council include;