Artists welcome mapping project

Players in the arts sector have welcomed a project aimed at mapping Malawi’s cultural and arts industry. The project will profile the sector, find out key challenges and what can be done to spur its growth.

During a virtual meeting on Friday, various arts and culture players said they were elated with the news that University of Malawi will spearhead the project which will contribute to the growth of the industry.

Malawi Writers Union president Chikumbutso Ndaferankhande said the project will help to provide data on the sector’s economic viability.

“I find this study to be important as it will come from the academia. It will confirm what we have always said that the industry has potential to do better and it will highlight areas where we can be assisted,” he said.

Book Publishers Association of Malawi president Maureen Masamba said it is important to have the study because it will, among other things, bring out basic information about the arts industry not compiled elsewhere.

“This study is long overdue. The project will give information and statistics on artists’ action. The arts industry indeed needs some profiling, direction and this study will help stakeholders on how best to help shape the industry for the better,” she said.

On his part, co-investigator of the project University of Malawi (Unima) Associate Professor Gowokani Chijere Chirwa said they are interested to have all the arts stakeholders on board to get a clear picture of the situation on the ground.

“We will look at various actors. We will also engage the private sector and try to understand why they sometimes shun sponsoring arts projects,” he said.

The project’s principal investigator Zindaba Chisiza, Associate Professor at Unima, told the arts players that the project will focus on various arts disciplines, including visual arts, media arts, cultural heritage and performing arts.

He said: “We want to make a proper profile of the arts and cultural sector, but we also want to find challenges so that we can spur growth. We want to know how many people are working in the sector, what type of work they are involved in and the how much they are paid for that work, their economic contribution and its impact to the economy and development of Malawi. We want to make recommendations on the part of structure changes and policy interventions required to make the sector more viable.”

The project is funded to the tune of K117 million by the Rei Foundation Limited of New Zealand. It will run for five months.n