International exposure window dangled for Malawian creatives

Malawian cultural and creative products have an opportunity to showcase their craft on an international stage courtesy of the Expo 2027 Belgrade in Serbia.

Malawi is among 120 countries invited to participate in the Expo from May 15 to August 15 2027 under the theme ‘Play for humanity: sport and music for all.’

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has called on artists, artisans, designers and craftsmen to submit their products for consideration for exhibition and possible sale at the global event.

The ministry said in a statement that most of the expenses related to Malawi’s participation will be covered by the Serbian Government under its Partnership Programme for Least Developed Countries.

In an interview yesterday, the ministry’s director of arts Humphrey Mpondaminga said the ministry’s expectation is that the opportunity will help expose locally made products on the international platform and create potential opportunities for collaboration.

“We want everyone who has a creative and cultural product that can represent Malawi at an international level to submit their products. There is no limit to the number of people who can submit these products,” he said.

Mpondaminga stressed that the opportunity is primarily for the products and not the artists or creatives themselves to travel to Serbia.

Products that will be selected for the exhibition will also be sold during the Expo, providing creatives with an opportunity to generate income.

“Those products can be a starting point for future collaborations where people can identify them and create markets for them beyond the Expo. We want the products and the producers to be exposed,” said Mpondaminga.

The products being sought include basketry and woven products, wooden curios and sculptures, paintings and other fine art, fashion and textiles, beadwork and jewellery, metal art, ceramics and pottery, among other contemporary visual art forms.

Mpondaminga said submissions will be assessed based on originality, artistic quality, craftsmanship, cultural significance and suitability for international exhibition.

Karonga-based Osman Zgambo of Osman Arts described the initiative as a positive development that will promote Malawian creatives and inspire them to produce more.

He said Malawi has unique creative products but limited access to markets is one of the challenges creatives face making the Expo an important platform for creatives to reach new audiences.

“We have unique products in Malawi, but we do not have many markets, but this is encouraging and we need more of these initiatives so that as creatives we know that there is a channel where our products can reach international markets,” said Zgambo.

Expo 2027 Belgrade will be a global platform for participating countries to showcase how culture and sports serves as tools for human connection and humanity.