Amendment of NACZ 1985 Act and what it means for the creative industries
Elvas Mari
Notes from a presentation by Mr Elvas Mari, Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
Arts & Culture Indaba 2010, Harare, 18 February 2010
Since 1985 the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has had District Arts Councils and board members appointed by the minister country wide. However since 1998 these structures have not been functional due to the lack of funding to sustain them. At both these levels, there were no administrative staff but rather volunteers, which is an ineffectual way of running a serious administration. The national board was made up of reps from the provinces and some outside the province. The Government could not afford allowances for all these district and provincial members so from 1999 when the first 9 member board was appointed, it did not reflect what was in the Act.
In terms of changes, there has been a suggestion to cut the number of board members from 20 to 11 in which 9 should come from area of expertise, e.g. tourism, legal and the artists and those who have helped in the development of Arts. The director of NACZ is not an ex-officio board member but in practice he makes decisions. Read more
Notes from Senator David Coltart’s keynote address [Arts & Culture Indaba 2010]
David Coltart
Minister of Education, Sports, Arts & Culture, Senator David Coltart, gave the keyonote address at the opening of the Arts & Culture Indaba in Harare this morning.
The Indaba gives a platform to exchange and improve ideas. Indaba came at a time when the government has just established the Arts and Culture Department. We would like to make sure Arts and Culture is not drowned in Education. We need to build a national consensus for culture and national policy which will reflect a multi faceted culture of Zim. Ministry assists parastatals to be able to stand on their own. Income raised must include payment for contributors so that artists see the benefit of their efforts. Read more
Arts Indaba Opens in Harare
Leading arts figures from around Zimbabwe have gathered for an arts & culture indaba in Harare. The indaba, organised by the British Council, the Culture Fund, UNESCO and the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe began with a keynote speech by Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts & Culture.
