Reclaim space, sponsor arts and culture—Unesco

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) cultural policy consultant Ayeta Anne Wangusa says government should reclaim its space in arts and cultural heritage promotion by providing financial support to the sector.

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Arts and Heritage Promotion Fund development consultation meeting in Blantyre on Monday, she said culture can be used as the country’s public relations.

The fund is one of the provisions in the National Arts and Heritage Council (Nahec) Bill pending Cabinet approval before it is tabled in Parliament.

“Culture and heritage form our identity. Culture should never be a second priority, it should be the first priority to build our identity and products,” she said.

Wangisa expressed hope that the fund will be progressive so that it should create a value chain that will attract development partners and private investors.

She commended Malawi for initiating the establishment and management of the proposed arts and cultural promotion fund.

“It’s good that we have started the process early so that we should not start the process two years down the road,” said Wangisa.

She said Tanzania has a similar fund but it has taken a different approach because they do not issue grants as the proposed fund in Malawi.

Nahec Task Force chairperson Maxwell Chiphinga said the new law will help artists get funding for individuals and associations artistic projects.

“Currently associations are failing to implement projects because of lack of funding. The membership fees that they collect from members only cater for administration expenses,” he said.

Chiphinga cited the failure to host the Malawi International Theatre Festival because of lack of funding.

He said: “We wanted to initiate a yearly international film festival in Malawi the way it happens in Durban [in South Africa] and Harare [in Zimbabwe] so that artists can come from all over the world.

“We did all the required preparations but we failed because nobody came forward to fund the project.”

The Nahec Bill seeks to promote the arts and cultural heritage of the country. One of the key provisions in the Bill is the establishment of the National Arts and Cultural Heritage Council with a mandate to spearhead the arts and cultural heritage promotion and funding drives.