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BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
Paul Brickhill, the founder of Book Café, has expressed extreme disappointment at the termination of their lease by OK Zimbabwe Pension Fund, the owners of the complex.
Speaking in an interview with StandardLife&Style last week, Brickhill said the closure was disheartening as Zimbabweans had not come to appreciate the importance of culture.
“This was forced on us. We never wanted to leave this place and I find it disappointing in the extreme,” said Brickhill. “It is a pity these people have shown no respect at all and devalued culture.”
Brickhill said he had no clue as to what triggered the termination of their lease which was due to be renewed by the end of 2013.
They were given until December 31 to have moved their business, he said.
“When the owners wrote to us we tried to engage them directly and through their agents, Old Mutual to no avail. I even told the Mayor of Harare who was shocked at the development as he is an arts and culture enthusiast,” said Brickhill.
“What I have to say though is that whether one is a politician, artist, doctor or whichever profession they are into, they need to respect and understand the role of culture and the arts in the development of the country. We are recovering from an economic collapse and the sector plays an important role as a unifier among different people.”
Despite the gravity of the connotations, Brickhill assured arts lovers that they were working on acquiring a new venue for the Book Café Brand.
“I really cannot say when it will be done but we certainly are working towards that,” he said. “We will issue out a statement early in the New Year on the move. We really would never have wanted to leave the Book Café because it was a splendid venue so I am very disturbed.”
Brickhill professed ignorance at what might have triggered their expulsion.
But insiders said it might have been triggered by the recent hosting of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s book At the Deep End at the venue two weeks ago.
It remains unclear though as the launch was well after the letter of eviction was sent to Brickhill.
The book Café was opened in 1997 while the Mannenburg was opened in 2000. The two venues provided a platform for numerous artistes most of who had never gotten a chance to get into the limelight thus popularizing the urban mbira phenomenon.
Various other artists like comedians and poets got equal chances to hog the limelight in the end presenting each artist with a probable break through into the various markets.
The memories from the twin venues will forever stick in the minds of which ever artists passed through its doors.
Meanwhile the venue has a number of events lined up as farewell shows in the remaining one week they have to operate.
“We will be hosting a number of shows so arts and culture lovers should come for the inevitable goodbyes,” said Brickhill.
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