Sibongile Ndiweni, Sunday News Reporter
A grant of more than US$700 000 has been advanced to Zimbabwe to fund more than 40 exceptional projects in a bid to promote the arts and culture industry by the European Union (EU) and Culture Fund as part of the first round of the Creative Actions II project.
The package has a total US$748 588 and is meant to finance 42 outstanding artistic projects by Zimbabwean artists from the country’s ten provinces.
The grant comes on the backdrop of the continued realisation that the arts sector is powerful in the social and economic development matrix of the country and seek to assist in the creation of a diverse range of artistic and cultural work mainly filmmaking, music, theatre, crafts, fashion, sculpturing, comedy and dance.
In a statement read, the EU Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann expressed his excitement towards the awarding of the grant.
“As the European Union, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering Zimbabwean creativity, and these projects will not only entertain but create jobs, raise awareness, promote tolerance and preserve the Zimbabwean art and culture,” the statement read.
Culture Fund executive director Farai Mpfunya said they were delighted to share the news that the project received a remarkable response during the first grant cycle, with 248 highly competitive proposals submitted.
Some of the projects will support the holding of festival activities, fairs, exhibitions and award ceremonies in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Victoria Falls, Matobo, Murehwa and other areas. Projects will empower creatives, especially those by women and the youths from Hwange, Binga, Tsholotsho, Lupane, Masvingo, Murehwa, Harare, Bulawayo as well as other areas on digital technologies, intellectual property rights, accessing new markets and professionalising their work.
The preservation and promotion of minority cultures of communities such as the San and Ndau as well as promoting accessibility to arts and cultural creations by people with disabilities will also be the focus of some of the awarded projects.
While celebrating that the awarded projects cover all the provinces of the country, the largest share which is 42% is from two provinces, Harare and Bulawayo, 31% are led by women and 34% are led by the youths.
Addressing the imbalances, the EU and Culture Fund strongly encouraged creatives from provinces with fewer grant awards including women, youths and people with disabilities to apply for the ongoing small grants scheme. They also urged them to look out for the upcoming second call for applications for the large grants scheme which is set to be announced before the end of the year.
The EU has committed EUR 2 060 500 over 36 months through the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust under the Creatives Actions II project which began in January this year. This substantial investment benefits artists and cultural practitioners from various disciplines including music, dance, theatre, literary arts and fashion.
The Creatives Actions II project aligns fully with the Government of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS-1) and contributes to its implementation by funding innovative artistic and cultural expressions, empowering civil society, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, and providing training and skills development programmes for arts and culture practitioners.