By Kennedy Nyavaya
After seven days since government restricted mass movement and gatherings in an effort to curb coronavirus, art in its different forms has ostensibly played a critical role in keeping sanity and composure among isolated citizens.
Anxiety, uncertainty and fear have been major characteristics among many in the country owing to the global pandemic that has claimed some 50 000 lives from over a million infected people across the globe.
In one of the responses to its wild spread, countries, including Zimbabwe, having recorded one death and nine positive cases so far, have put in place nationwide lockdowns.
Stuck at home, people have turned to books, television shows, skits and music, among other forms of artistic work, to rid the boredom.
“Satire and other forms of art can play a really important role in reaching out to people that feel isolated in their homes and making them feel a part of something bigger through laughing and feeling part of a wider humanity,” jester Samm “Cde Fatso” Monro told Standard Style.
Through Magamba, where he is director, Cde Fatso and his team have since turned to virtual programming giving birth to new shows like Quarantine Party that premiered on Friday.
“We came up with the show because we realised people are in lockdown but still in need of entertainment and so with the quarantine party the idea is people can call in with the craziest things that have happened to them while they have been on lockdown,” he explained the concept.
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Several artistes have also been doing constant live streams either to market or release new work as well as merely giving their fan bases updates of snippets of life outside their professions.
Award-winning musicians like Jah Prayzah and Gemma Griffiths have also taken the opportunity to release some visuals to their latest music over the past week.
Revered musician and creative director Leonard Mapfumo applauded such as significant efforts to calming the nerves of many during this globally precarious time.
“I think music on its own outside of the genres plays a huge role in people’s lives in that there is a song for every situation, so what you may be going through there is a song that speaks to your situation,” he said, adding that it would be difficult to survive the scourge without music.
“Music gives you a companion and allows your mind to navigate on other issues and without that it will certainly be difficult,” said Mapfumo.
With other countries extending days of lockdown owing to the intensifying fight against the pandemic, a cloud of uncertainty roves on whether Zimbabwe will follow and if it does, the arts could be a significant must in maintaining public sanity.
