By Grant Moyo
Seasoned arts and cultural developer Roberta Wagner regards exchanging ideas with creatives in arts communities across Africa and Europe with the quest of producing high level work as extremely inspiring.
Her over a decade career is defined by countless projects that have brought success to many artists, cultural institutions and far-reaching implications on cultural exchange between different countries.
She ascribes her enthusiasm for creative activities to a comprehensive upbringing which afforded her with opportunities to be in touch with different genres and elements of art listing music, dance and museum trips.
Growing up listening to conscious music set the foundation for her to understand the role of an artist as a voice to the voiceless and the power arts possess in agenda setting.
Born in Germany, Wagner has worked in high-profile jobs as a director for cultural organisations that include Goethe Centre in Kampala (Uganda) and Harare (Zimbabwe), where she managed and realised a multitude of small-scale and large projects.
Wagner has previously been deployed to the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust as a German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) development advisor. She is the brainchild of Anthouse Productions, which is running the European Union Film Festival in Zimbabwe.
“What is really fascinating is that I come from a very unusual German background, quite a small village, a real ‘kumusha’,” she said.
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“I was raised by my biological mother and a black American stepdad, who became a part of my life from when I was four months old. I had such an international upbringing, I grew up on old school vinyl records, I listened to really important American music like Brian Owens’ single called A Change Is Gonna Come, particularly criticising the status quo of America. I also had lots of conversations with my stepdad about equality, being black, being white, what it meant growing up in America.”
Wagner has qualifications in Social Pedagogy, Supervision and Counselling Techniques, as well as Dance Therapy. She kick-started her professional career as an arts and cultural expert in Uganda. It was after the Goethe Institute visited Uganda to evaluate if it could support the country’s cultural society that she was appointed the director of Goethe Centre in Kampala, a position she would hold years later working for the local guild in Harare.
The arts and cultural developer acknowledges that she never has fixed ideas, it is in conversations with artists that she supports the arts sector by taking thoughts that are already existing and elevating them to the next level. Since artists often need space and funding, her role is to ensure that they get the necessary assistance.
“I was a board member of the Uganda German Cultural Society in my mid 20s when they selected me to become the Goethe Centre director,” she said.
“At that time, focus was, the society and then over time I started building programmes. It was important for me to understand the need or gap, so the artists that I met would give me their perceptions on a regular basis.
“Interestingly, I worked more in the contemporary arts field. At that time there were a few galleries, street art was still a new form, and we created a street art festival. I worked with a collective of gifted creative visual artists who embraced the idea of doing performances outdoors away from galleries.
“Unlike in Uganda, when I came to Zimbabwe I couldn’t really feel there was that approach of doing performances outdoors away from galleries. By coincidence I met musicians who felt they didn’t have enough performing space, and it became an issue. Interestingly at Goethe Centre we had a phenomenal gazebo, which offered space for artistes. It was not necessarily my idea to start the acoustic night, it was obviously the arts collective. Due to the need to provide a platform it occurred that Zimbabwe German Society (ZGS) took on that role because of the gap which was presented to me.”
When Wagner became GIZ’s development advisor deployed to the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust, she expanded her knowledge and horizon in the development space. Guiding, supporting and advising with a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation, she offered a different skill-use coupled with her previous experience as a director. This was followed by a European Union Film Festival affiliation.
“At Culture Fund my role was advisor for project management, monitoring and evaluation as well as cultural promotion,” she said.
“I advised the management and board of directors in the phase of organisational change, and I was responsible for developing and implementing a results-based monitoring and evaluation framework.
“I also created a matrix for documenting success stories of the various programe that the Trust supports, and prepared as well as delivered advice on policy and operational guidelines in the field of arts and culture, among other decisive roles.”
Concerning the EU Film Festival, Wagner worked with a Zimbabwean team in Bulawayo and Harare to facilitate the growth of the festival by building a bridge between European film-making and Zimbabwean film practitioners through supporting local film practitioners at the same time showcasing European films.
“In the first and second year focus was mainly on screenings, and then we started having site programmes like the masterclass as well as input sessions with film practitioners and motivational lectures in universities,” Wagner said.
“Last year because of Covid-19, we transformed completely into a digital festival. We have started building a network of film practitioners who are supporting us. Ways of tying Diaspora film makers to the festival are being looked into. Great linkages can be created and it’s in the works.”
With a production house almost four years now, Wagner said Anthouse Productions aims to expand the impact and reach of the arts and culture industry throughout Africa and Europe. Due to the diverse nature of her portfolio and experience, the production house is quickly growing and expanding its operations managing recording and touring artistes listing neo-soul singer Prayersoul (Zimbabwe), neo-reggae band Kjongs (Belgium), and Afro-fusionist Bonique Lamar (Uganda). The cultural entrepreneur also offers artiste management workshops and designs a wide range of training programmes.
“It was always my approach to work with people in the long term giving them enough foundation beyond their talents. There’s loads of talent particularly in Zimbabwe, but that alone it’s not really what makes an artist prosper. It’s the mindset, knowledge, empowerment, and being able to understand certain aspects of the business that guarantees a successful career.
“I have done training programmes themed How to transform your passion into a successful business, I feel many artistes want to be famous, sell their work, and travel the world, but they have very little understanding of the business aspect of it. During the business training I assess the state of their careers, after understanding their challenges I take them through the steps on how they can improve. It’s a very hands-on and empowering tool kit.
“I have started doing a similar programme in Germany after realising that there’s very little business training in arts programmes at tertiary level. I take great pleasure in helping artists because I feel it’s a missing tool kit which really benefits at large.
“Fortunately, in Germany arts contribute to the gross domestic product of the country, so we have a great funding scheme. Basically art is the mirror of our society, in hard and good times artists play a very huge role. As Covid-19 continues to bite, I can’t imagine life in isolation without a good book, movies, music, or artwork to look at.”
By identifying opportunities that enable creatives to take full advantage of the gaps that exist, Wagner is providing meaningful solutions to problems faced within the arts and culture sector. Building a stable network of various high-quality projects across the continent and beyond expands influence and reach, immensely contributing to the livelihoods of creatives through intercultural exchanges.
