Whether by coincidence or not, it seems the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) organisers’ efforts to “stage an intervention” for the country’s socio-economic problems through arts last year could have succeeded if political developments in the past few months are anything to go by.
By Kennedy Nyavaya
“We are intervening to show what is positive; what is celebratory about our country, our people and also visiting artists coming here are going to be here to see Zimbabwean artists and see a totally different side to this country,” said Hifa executive director Maria Wilson last year. This year’s version of the annual festival set for May 1 to 6 under the theme We count is, according to Wilson, about “showing a face of the country that maybe the world has not seen”, bordering on accountability.
She said after a successful run of an exceptional showcase in the country over the past 18 years, it was now time for assessment and expecting an even bright future.
“We count our experiences, we count our votes, we count those we have lost, we count celebrations and we count the numbers of Hifa that we have been to and how that has changed our lives for at least six days every year,” said Wilson.
“That is going to show a face of the country that maybe the world has not seen that we do not want to be isolated, we want to be diverse we want to be open for business.”
Wilson described the festival, which she said is ranked among the top 10 in the world, as a national endeavour which needed all citizens to unite in painting a positive image of the country to the world.
“What Hifa is going to do is show that there is unity within the country that people can see because of the audiences’ enjoyment because they will be celebrating their own artists as well as being open to visiting artistes,” she said, adding that arts could be used to cultivate cordial relations with foreign visitors.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“We feel that we need to have positive eyes looking at us and a positive attitude to what we are as a people because we achieve the most amazing things and at the basement of those achievements lays the face of this amazing festival.”
The incumbent president (Emmerson Mnangagwa)has been preaching the gospel of reengagement although there are calls for more accountability to date.
Wilson said arts were necessary to represent the new national stance as well as monitoring the reengagement process.
“Arts are a rallying point and also a face of what is happening in the country. they are, apart from media, the most current face of what is happening in a country,” she said.
“Through song, visual arts and dance they (arts) are almost like a finger on a pulse and that is why they are so important and need to be supported.”
