Empowering female creatives

The Festival Institute has launched Grl Pwrd X, an extended edition of its Grl Pwrd creative training programme in technical production aimed at empowering Malawian women in the creative arts.

The six-month apprenticeship programme developed in partnership with The Diamond Standards (TDS) has welcomed a cohort of 15 young women who will be trained in music engineering, audiovisual production and other technical aspects of creative production.

Festival Institute director Tammy Mbendera said the programme addresses the gap in female representation within technical and creative fields.

“Recent research we did commissioned by Rei Foundation Ltd, Music Crossroads Malawi and Malawi National Commission for Unesco on the music business in Malawi indicates that women in the music industry constitute less than three percent female representation,” she said.

Mbendera said lack of access to training opportunities in technology makes female artists and producers fall behind in terms of providing technical support in the creative field.

“We engaged the female musicians and they pointed out stereotypes, the presence of only males behind the scenes means there is greater potential for issues around harassment, sexual favours and the likes. So empowering women, particularly in technical production, meant dealing away with the challenges that they face,” she said.

Fifteen participants in the first cohort include musicians, producers, sound engineers and audio visual directors who are expected to pass on what they have learnt to other independent up-and-coming and aspiring female artists.

Apart from empowering the women, the initiative will also help them understand how the music and creative sectors can be monetised and treated as a businesss sector beyond the various skill sets.

One of the programme participants, Karen Banya emphasised the significance of the programme for female artists in the creative industry.

“The programme is significant for female creatives like myself and has the potential to provide for a lot of women creatives the space and empowerment needed to develop their skills and break through the barriers that have traditionally marginalized women in the industry,” she said.

The programme is partially funded by Copyright Society of Malawi through its Copyright Fund with additional support from private contributions.