Pearl Convention Centre in Lilongwe recently turned into a fertile ground for creative conversations.
It hosted a National Women in Arts Conference, which turned into a special platform to reflect, reason and challenge the status quo.
Organised by the Department of Arts in the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Culture, it was celebrated under the unified theme: ‘Celebrating Women Who Create, Inspire and Lead’.
It saw women creatives, including poets, musicians, writers, cultural activists, graphic designers, story tellers, content creators, event hosts, visual artists and fashion designers converging for a purpose.
From a daring presentation that challenged the policy environment by Chigomezgo “Chigo” Gondwe, one of Malawi’s fearless poets and policy advocates, to an entrepreneurial lecture by a legendary fashion guru Lilly Alfonso.
Gondwe underscored the role of women creatives in influencing policy direction.
“This is a timely golden opportunity for us in the creative economy to tangibly influence cultural policy direction and decisions. We have been calling for participation. Time has come to get out of our cocoons and drive conversations that matter, not only for us, but for those who will be entering the sector in future,” she said.
Gondwe challenged the women to use their contemporary voices to portray power, talents, potential and shift from being victims of circumstances.
On her part, Alfonso challenged women to create worthwhile brands that can compete on both local and international markets.
“It’s high time we rise beyond survival and visibility, and to build brands and businesses that outlive them—rooted in vision, purpose and legacy. In a time of rapid change and Artificial Intelligence-driven transformation, we must think beyond limits and position ourselves for the future,” she said.
Alfonso added that creatives, including founders, lose their vision because they build only for today, not for continuity.
“Legacy must be intentional—through systems, knowledge and structure because growth does not happen alone. It is a combination of skills and knowledge,” she said.
Just like anywhere in the world, women creatives are prone to gender-based-Violence (GBV) particularly sexual exploitation.
Responding to this hidden crisis, seasoned gender and development practitioner Mervis Kamanga made a presentation on GBV to spotlight the challenge.
She highlighted the importance of gender mainstreaming within Malawi’s cultural and creative sector to create safer and more inclusive spaces for women in the arts.
Kamanga also urged women creatives to challenge norms and stereotypes by embracing themes on gender and identity to influence social change.
The conference also brought together inspiring insights from both legendary and youthful female creatives such as Ethel Kamwendo-Banda, Nyakose Madise, Mfumukazi Zilanie Gondwe and industry experts
The dialogue accorded women creatives with a rare opportunity to unpack realities they face in the arts and cultural sector.
And they collectively sought strategies to change the status quo.
Throughout the interaction, one key message was clear—women creatives must act to actualise their power and meaningful leadership in the creative economy—not just mere lip service.
Another thing which was certain was for women in the arts to be bold and unapologetic when demanding their rights.
They were challenged to become ‘architects’ of their own future.
The Women in Arts Conference was spiced up by extraordinary art exhibition by Elyn Baskets. They displayed ornaments and multi-coloured baskets.
