Intwasa Roars To Life

Intwasa Arts Festival 2011 did roar into life yesterday with scintillating performances from the Edith Katiji inspired The Comeback which played at the Bulawayo Theatre to a near full house. The Comeback is a beautifully written and acted story about Eli, who returns home from the UK to rediscover herself and touch base with her roots after a miserable and rather unsuccessful stint abroad. She wants to pick up the pieces of her broken life through a musical show called the comeback. This story is written by Sifiso Mabhena and Directed by Leeroy Gono.

The day finished to a packed Presidential room at the rainbow hotel with Rainbow Blaze and Bismillahi Gargar taking turns to thrill the audiences with their well polished acts, the audiences barely sat down during the show with Rainbow Blaze taking them down memory lane with golden oldies that once rocked and Bismillahi Gargar s performance which will left the discerning listener blown away by the angelic yet so original voices, despite the language difference the crowd was entertained from start to finish . The four piece Somali/Kenyan outfit who are at Intwasa for the first time courtesy of Alliance Francaise presenting ethnic North African melodies. Bismillahi Gargar is a collective group of women of Somali origin from Garissa, North eastern Kenya. The groups name is derived from the Somali words bismillahi meaning “in the name of Allah” and Gargar meaning “joining or bringing together.Today audiences will be treated to theatre and music in  Lion and the Jewel and Some soul food in Gospel Truth featuring Family Voices and The Conquers then later theatre lovers can feast in probably the only collaboration and maybe the only new local production Drums the Musical.  keep visiting the blog for more info also follow this link for the full programme. http://www.intwasa.org/programme.html

Intwasa 2011 Opening day a “Women’s Affair”

The opening day of the 7^th edition of the Intwasa Arts Festival which kicks off on the 19^th of September 2011 is a day dedicated to the women in arts. The day kicks off with a “women in arts workshop” at Unlimited Connect Centre which will cover the following topics; image and stage craft, cherry factor, internet and publicity, dealing with audiences, musicians and crew,HIV/AIDS and the artist and basic copyrights with question and answer facilitated by top and influential women in the arts industry.

At 6pm a British Council sponsored theatre piece The Comeback plays at the Bulawayo Theatre, The Comeback is a beautifully written and acted story about Eli, who returns home from the UK to rediscover herself and touch base with her roots after a miserable and rather unsuccessful stint abroad. She wants to pick up the pieces of her broken life through a musical show called the comeback. This story is written by Sifiso Mabhena and Directed by Leeroy Gono.

The day is capped by a performance which will leave the discerning listener blown away by the angelic yet so original voices, a clue where the groups soul lives- in the past, now and the future, appealing to all ages and cutting through all genres this is Bismillahi Gargar the four piece Somali/Kenyan outfit who are at Intwasa for the first time courtesy of Alliance Francaise presenting ethnic North African melodies. Bismillahi Gargar is a collective group of women of Somali origin from Garissa, North eastern Kenya. The groups name is derived from the Somali words bismillahi meaning “in the name of Allah” and Gargar meaning “joining or bringing together”.

BISMILLAHI GARGAR TO OPEN INTWASA 2011

The 2011 Intwasa festival opening day will be graced by a fitting group of Somali origin from Garissa, North Eastern Kenya. Bismillahi Gargar is one of the most decorated acts at the 7^th edition of the Intwasa Arts Festival which kicks off on the 19^th of September finishing on the 25^th of September 2011.

The groups name is derived from the Somali words bismillahi meaning “in the name of Allah” and Gargar meaning “joining or bringing together”. Formed in 2003 with the purpose of reminding people of their traditional culture, Bismillahi Gargar focus on their own empowerment in an area where cultural practices can sometimes marginalise women.

Music is just one of the activities they engage in, besides performing on national holidays, weddings and other festivities the women run a self help group weaving mats and ropes. Their debut CD titled Garissa Express was recorded over a period of 2 years at Nairobi’s Ketebul studios, consisting of numerous trips for the ladies shuttling back and forth between Garissa and Nairobi.

Their music is uniquely pop and ethnical in keeping with Somali Language and singing style, yet arranged and recorded with modern instrumentation their music will leave the discerning listener blown away by the angelic yet so original voices, a clue where the groups soul lives- in the past, now and the future, appealing to all ages and cutting through all genres.

The four piece group is made of Lulu Bashir Muge, Anab Gure Ibrtahi, Amina Basher Elmoge and Asha Ibrahim Yussuf.Bismillahi Gargar recently staged a show at the alliance Francaise Nairobi which was a huge success as they played to a full house grooving to their vocals, harmonies and dancing

SIYAYA ARTS TO PERFORM AT INTWASA FESTIVAL 2011

Fresh from a European tour, Siyaya Arts the 2011 NAMA Award winners who recently celebrated their 22^nd anniversary in the arts industry will for the first time perform at the Intwasa Festival, presenting their piece “Siyaya in Concert” a colorful, climactic and bursting at the seams with energy presentation. “We are excited to be part of this years Intwasa festival as over the years we have been on tour during this time of the year, we promise our fans a show to remember as we have not performed a full show for our home fans since Zambezi Express at the Ibumba International Festival 2010”.

In this show the West African Djembe meets the Zimbabwean Ngoma and Marimba in an all out vigor, complimented by the lively dances, liquid tones, superb percussion rhythms and the sweet acapella harmonies all resembling the rich cultures and traditions of the townships of Makokoba.

This acoustic set relates the hard times and the joy of life on the African subcontinent. Siyaya’s rousing music and tightly choreographed dance transcends the language barrier. It’s a veritable Tour de force of African forms – traditional and contemporary

Firmly rooted in Makokoba, Bulawayo’s oldest township, Siyaya Arts was started in 1989 as NASA (Nostalgic Actors & Singers Alliance). “We rechristened ourselves Siyaya (On the Move) during our 10th anniversary; a literal description of our journeys all over the world, as well as of an identity, an ethos and a heartfelt belief, the name could not be more apt. The ‘nostalgia’ Siyaya was founded upon refers to the powerful reinterpretation of traditional tales, music and dance, which is often brought to life by relating them to their modern derivatives” said the Siyaya Arts Director Saimon Mambazo Phiri.

Touring throughout Europe and Africa, Siyaya has gained a good reputation particularly for imaginative manipulation and use of social issues in their music. In 2006 Siyaya opened WOMAD Reading to good reviews and took the show Thatha to Edinburgh earning 5 star reviews from Metro & Independent. In 2005 we shared the stage with some respected world music artists at Live 8 Africa Calling concert at the Eden Project organized by WOMAD. Zambezi Express, the recent production is enjoying success the world over.Siyaya took part in the Glastonbury Festival 2010 where they made a record 8th appearance further cementing their place in the world arts circuit. Siyaya to date has 3 albums, Yebo Yes, Kokoba Town and Futhi Njalo the group will perform selected songs from all 3 albums and the audiences will be treated to some new songs and Siyaya s own renditions of popular songs by some local and international music greats.

“As temperature-raisers they are nothing short of spectacular! The jubilant enthusiasm is infectious and, by the end, this crowd is cheering for an encore.” Metro UK

Look out for the 1st day press release and a tribute to our sponsors tommorrow-ART WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

There are no free lunches in the arts anymore!!!

Many people are not willing to pay for arts events. In fact most are shocked when asked to do so when they attend arts events. It is common to find many people preferring to buy drinks, food, and others things found around the venue and still not comfortable in paying for the actual artistic performance. A lot of us see no reason why we should pay. We believe our being there is good enough. But crowds, no matter how big they are, do not add value to the artist and his performance, particularly when they are not prepared to pay for the performance. What would be the value of screaming and shouting and dancing for hours in front of a big crowd when in the end one goes home empty handed? My belief is that when an arts event takes place it must always be the artists that runs to the bank smiling. But the reality in most cases is that it is the service providers that run to the bank while the artiste is left clutching nothing but fading dreams. Frankly speaking the artistes must benefit most from the products of his or her sweat.  

For so long the sector has been struggling to portray itself as a business sector. A sector with some significant influence on the country’s economy. A sector with a reasonable income. For some time now the struggle has been about turning the arts from just being recreational to a serious business sector. Many artistes have been urged to treat their art activities as business ventures. There have been attempts to re-label the sector as the creative industry. The creative business. And we cannot talk business without alluding to the economics of the said activities. The reason why most business sectors have refused to see the arts as a business has mainly been because the sector has failed to show concrete figures of how much they make per month or per year. And without these figures it has been difficult to convince a lot of people about the income generating abilities of the arts.

The arts are not free. That is what we need to take out of the minds of many people, especially many of us. When artistes say they need support they don’t mean audiences must just come to watch them for free, even family members, relatives and friends of the artistes must pay. Proper support should be both financial and moral. Recently some friends of mine were looking at the Intwasa program and their concern was about the gate charges. The festival charges range from $1 to $10 per show. However, there are about 31 free events – almost half the events at the festival. Also the festival has special rates for students and artistes. While the festival has reasonable support from partners such Hivos, Delta Beverages, Africalia Belgium, Culture Fund, Plan Zimbabwe, Habitat Africa Safaris and National Youth Development Trust to name but a few it still needs to generate some funds for the running of  Intwasa throughout the year, more so now that Intwasa has activity taking place from January to December.  The gate charges are one way of fundraising and meant to help support these other activity that will in-turn add value to future editions of the festival. So if we seriously want to talk sustainability in the arts then surely the public aught to subsidies some of these activities by paying at the gate. Lets also not forget that our partners will not always be there.

The festival strongly believes that art is not, and should not be free. Even the festival’ s 31 so called free shows are being paid for by our partners. In essence they are not free. People, especially those with the arts at heart, must get it out of their minds that arts events, Intwasa arts festival included, are free events. The arts are not for free but a business.  And a serious one for that matter. 

INTWASA FESTIVAL 2011 VENUES ANNOUNCED

The countdown to the multi disciplinary spectacle continues with 13 days to go. Intwasa Festival 2011 which kicks of on the 19^th of September and ends on the 25^th of September 2011 will this year use 7 venues spread around the city which will appeal to different audiences and tastes. The theme for this year’s festival is Art without Boundaries an expression that fits the arts disciplines that are featured in this years programming.

The festival director Mr Baya has said that all the venues have been confirmed for the 65 events. Major highlights to look forward at the different venues are the films that are going to be showcased at the John Knight Cinema at the National Art Gallery. This year the City Hall Car Park has been secured and as usual the main attraction will be the Chibuku stage sponsored by Delta Beverages, at the Car Park. Music revellers are going to be treated to musical performances from foreign and local artists. Unlimited Connect Centre and the National Art Gallery will be hosting several workshops in visual arts, poetry and administration. The Bulawayo Theatre Club will play host to theatre productions from seasoned writers, artists and production houses including some productions from outside the country. There is also the Newsday stage which is the Small City Hall another venue which will prove a hit to the audiences as it will host top acts from within Zimbabwe and abroad. People must prepare themselves to have a hearty laugh at the Amakhosi Elite 400 as it will house a comedy show during the festival. The grand Horizon restaurant and bar will host spectacular poetry and musical performances chief are among them a Jazz concert featuring the best in Zimbabwean music and a foreign artist. The arts without boundaries themed festival will go beyond the CBD and extend the fun to the western areas as usual with dance and theatre at the Stanley Hall and Njube Hall, Njube Hall is a first for Intwasa and its part of an extension drive that will see the festival move to other locations and even other parts of the country in the near future.

This year’s festival will see artists, facilitators and acts from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Kenya, Wales, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Intwasa 2011 full programme is ready and due for release on Friday, watch this space for more info.

CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR YOUNG ARTISTS EXHIBITION

The arts in Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo are varied in their forms,
imagery and emphasis and are an accurate reflection of the complexity of
the region’s history and culture.  The peoples are developing their own
skills and artistic directions.  This has been greatly assisted by
government which has actively encouraged the promotion of the arts through
the adoption of progressive policies.

As we embark on this years Intwasa (spring) Arts Festival koBulawayo.  The
spring is a time for budding of young and old trees, young and old artists
come together to celebrate a season of joyous occasion after the slumber
of winter.  Winter were ideas are brewed and mellowed,  then Intwasa with
thematic processes comes in breaking new ground and  new shoots come up
ushering in ‘Art without boundaries’.  The new shoots with their clean
green colour are mesmerizing to behold.  These new shoots are the young
visual artist who will be saying statements in this year’s creative
celebrations.  These young artists show all the distinctive features of an
artistic trend; they form a group of artists on firm ground, well on their
way.  They are embarking on a long journey, with an established tradition
in their kit, with this equipment their safety during the voyage (life as
an artist) is ensured.  These young artists bring in a new signature, an
entirely new visual language.

During Intwasa artists create new bridges which are indispensable.  Young
artist have a seeking attitude striving for knowledge at times with or
without a sense of responsibility but the end results is that contours of
life are built.  Young artists tend to venture to tread more on holy
ground and dangerous paths because of their vigour and enthusiasm.

Young people play a pivotal role in society.  They are today’s leaders in
their own role.  It is in this mind that the Intwasa Arts Festival
koBulawayo is approaching you the young visual artist with the hope that
you will participate in this year’s visual art exhibition – Art Without
Boundaries.  Bring your work be it sculpture, painting, drawing, textile,
print, batik, pottery etc. to the gallery before the 10th of September 2011