Arts players ready for organised sector

Players in the arts say a more organised arts sector can help them be vibrant and contribute more to the country’s economy.

They made the remarks during a co-design workshop for a mapping exercise that University of Malawi (Unima) is planning to undertake.

The meeting held at Sunbird Mount Soche on Friday followed similar meetings with arts leaders in the Northern and Southern regions.

Poetry Association of Malawi president Robert Chiwamba said the exercise will help to have a more organised arts sector and also fully appreciate the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy.

On his part, renowned filmmaker Charles Shemu-Joyah said artists are making huge contributions to the country’s economy, but they remain unappreciated because they do it in an informal set up.

“Elsewhere, we have seen governments and institutions pumping funds into the arts sector because they are assured that doing so will have a positive impact on the larger society. We just have to have a more organised sector with a well understood set up and probably we can get the same,” he said.

Ethnomusicologist Waliko Makhala said once the arts industry gets mapped and becomes more formal, it will even collect more revenue.

“My experience when I performed in South Africa was that an international artist cannot perform there without paying revenue to the arts council. Here, foreign artists come, perform and leave with their entire performance fee, no wonder our sector is not developing,” he said.

 Female actress and Neptunes Productions owner Flora Suya also asked Unima to look into women in the sector, how they are treated and their contribution to the arts sector.

“It is not easy being a female artist. We face a lot of challenges but we do a lot of work as well,” she said.

In his opening remarks, Unima associate professor of drama Zindaba Chisiza said the exercise will help affirm the notion that artists contribute to the country’s economy.

“The arts industry wants investment, but there is need to show evidence that the industry is contributing to the economy. We, therefore, want to map how much the arts are contributing to the economy,” he said.

On his part, associate professor of economics Gowokani Chijere Chirwa said the mapping exercise will help to bring out the facts of the arts industry.

“Basically, the arts industry is underestimated because most arts players operate in a briefcase capacity. Other countries whose arts industries are well supported, do so because they are assured that the arts contribute to those countries’ gross domestic product,” he said.

The project is funded by Rel Foundation Limited to the tune of K117 million. The foundation has a long history of supporting the arts sector in Malawi.