2021 curtain finally comes down

By The Standard and Newsday | Dec. 31, 2021 | 5 Min read

Although the year 2021 witnessed the partial reopening of the creative space after almost a year in total lockdown, some creatives have continued to languish in COVID-19-induced poverty that has turned them into beggars.

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

FOR the creatives the year 2021, whose curtain comes down today, is another year that they would want to quickly forget about. With COVID -19 still in our midst, the outlook for 2022 appears not to be rosy either. The COVID-19 pandemic has left the creative sector struggling to breathe.

On the other hand, in the midst of the pandemic, some artists have scored big — getting rewarded for their sweat as they won local and international awards.

(National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director)

“Generally, 2021 like 2020 was dominated by COVID-19 restrictions which made it impossible for artists to work with limitations on gatherings and the prolonged closure of workspaces.

“Towards the end of the year there were relaxations allowing artists to perform, but there were still restrictions in terms of numbers which still limited the capacity of artists to yield their full potential.”

“So there has not been much difference, but we have seen the increased use of digital spaces and we hope that as we can see the increased monetisation of these platforms so that artists can get rewarded for uploading their works.

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“Importantly, we managed to see a growth in the number of practitioners in the sector and also in the number of products that were produced, for example, through online platforms which are quite unprecedented.

“The year represented a continued learning experience of the COVID-19 situation. So, I hope artists have been learning and what is clear is that COVID-19 is here to stay so there is a need to look at how to make a living in this new normal of restricted crowds and differing lockdown regimes.

“Artists need to find new ways of sending their works to the audience that do not necessarily need mass gatherings, but that can also get them monetary rewards. I think we realised a potential sector of revenue especially for musicians which are corporates and civic society.

“Artists need to tap into these for partnerships or for composing jingles for advertising or for awareness which is a potentially huge source for revenue.”

“As National Arts Council we are thrilled that despite the challenges we still managed to see some artists excelling and continuing their work winning local and international awards.” “COVID-19 does not necessarily mean people stop working, but it presents an opportunity for other avenues of delivery for art and we hope more and more artists can take advantage of all these opportunities.”

Tafadzwa Mukaro (gospel singer)

“2021 has been a difficult year due to the induced effects of COVID-19. It affected the revenue streams of many creatives. Through it all God has sustained us and I am really thankful for the gift of life and good health.

“We have been spared to see another tomorrow. We pray for those who lost loved ones so the Lord comforts them. We continue to pray to God to heal our nation. I encourage all to get vaccinated as this will assist us to quickly get accustomed to the new norm of life and go about our business.

“I am looking forward to 2022 as I will be working hard to release singles and albums. I am also looking forward to pursuing my passion of working with youths, that is reaching out to youths and engaging them on talent identification and mentoring in a Christian aspect.

“Thank you to everyone for the continued support of my music. Happy holidays to all and I wish everyone a prosperous 2022.”

Raphael Chikukwa (National Gallery of Zimbabwe executive director)

**Raphael Chikukwa (executive director of NGZ)**

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, our sector has been affected heavily. As the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, we had to migrate to the virtual world and this migration is important for us as a cultural institution.

“Our Harare conversations moved to the virtual platform, but we also cut down on a number of exhibitions we do annually. Being able to host the International Conference on African Cultures was a huge success for us.

“At the back of all this, our sad stories of losing a number of our artists haunt us as a sector. Some of the great artists we lost include Lazarus Takawira, Marvelous Mangena, Rashid Jogee, Helen Liros and Derek Higgins to mention but a few.”

Mercy “Catwalk” Mushaninga (Modelling guru and Zimbabwe Gossip Models Agency director)

“The showbiz industry this year was a bit better than last year as many people in the showbiz and artists made the right move to get vaccinated resulting in reduced cases.

“However, on our modelling side it was not that rosy, we failed to host our annual Zimbabwe Models Awards ceremony because many models were not active. Not many of them did work for 2021, so we tried to avoid a situation whereby we could end up rewarding the same models as our awards are won on merit.

“The Zimbabwe Models Awards return in 2022. In the absence of the awards, we however, managed to host the Mr Zimbabwe pageant that was bigger and better this year as it attracted many contestants, making the competition tough.

“We also introduced the Zimbabwe Medical Awards that honoured legends such as eye surgeon Solomon Guramatunhu among others, and the first Zimbabwean female doctor Madeline Nyamwanza-Makonese, who is also the second African woman to become a medical doctor, and the first African woman to graduate from the University of Rhodesia Medical School. She was honoured while she is still alive.”

“I believe 2022 is going to be a great year as it has a backlog of many things that are on hold and especially with the vaccination drive.”

Plot Mhako (creative curator)

“Despite the relief for creatives, especially performing arts, the industry remained in a state of fatigue as a lot of artists struggled to get back on their feet. Some promoters closed shop, the audiences were very skeptical of public gatherings, touring artists were unable to travel among many other challenges for an already fragile economy.

“I think the prevailing situation exposed the realities on the ground. A reality of a creative and cultural industry that is poorly structured and inadequately resourced. A lot of initiatives and artists managed to go digital, some employing hybrid formats.

“Notable annual festivals, events and exhibitions did not happen, but some defied the odds and staged shows successfully. The impact of the adverse environment can be seen by the drought in hit songs.

“Possibly for the first time in Zimbabwean history, we struggled to get multiple hit-songs with Nutty O’s Handipere Power and DT Bio Mudimba’s 2020 release Kujata-jata dominating the charts and the streets.

“We had great wins too, Madam Boss, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Winky D scooping international awards.”