There is some hope
Elsewhere the creative industry enjoys massive corporate support, but the same cannot be said about Malawi.
The endorsements and sponsorships that artists receive in countries around have the potential to make local artists jealousy. The support they get makes everyone do their best to remain perched on the artistic ladder.
It is the kind of motivation that everyone will need to stay focused in perfecting their art. When you are involved in any trade and you are reaping the right rewards, the least you can do is reciprocate that goodwill by showing your best.
Compare with the situation here at home, the outlook is all different. Creatives in the country have forever rued the lukewarm support they receive from corporates to stimulate the full blossom of the industry.
We operate in a world where a sponsorship of even K1 million for an artistic venture smells like heaven. This is because the creatives are used to being on the furthest end of what is otherwise supposed to be a symbiotic entanglement between them and the stakeholders they work with.
We can all agree that art drives everything. Every corporate campaign, promotional and marketing ventures and all sorts of advocacy work rides on the back of some form of art be it drama, music, photography or poetry.
But in such an equation, the creatives have been pushed to the peripheral where their input and contribution is only appreciated and needed when the ‘users’ deem it fit. The status quo has gone on for long and we appear clueless of what will it take to turn the tide.
Last year, the world almost came to a standstill when National Bank plc announced a K40 million partnership with Epic Lifestyle for the Kizz Daniel concert at the Lilongwe Golf Club. Some quarters demanded justification for making such an investment.
Such kind of reaction just reaffirmed how low people view art. To them a music show like the Kizz Daniel one is just one of those petty things. They did not know there is always so much economic and business value in such an event.
But as the bank would later review after the concert, they recouped double from the investment they made through various activation campaigns and the trading on their online platforms in purchasing tickets for the show.
Those who almost laughed at the bank for making such a partnership were left with an egg on their faces. The bank made a calculated move. Within their system they have people who know the power of art and worked out the best way to leverage on that.
This week, we have seen another lucrative partnership between Standard Bank plc and revered poet Q Malewezi. The bank has pumped in K15 million for Malewezi’s upcoming album launch slated for May 6 at Bingu International Convention Centre.
Such kind of support gives hope that there are still some pockets which value art for what it is. We have minds who look at art and realise that it is equal to gold.
These artists will not do it on their own if they are not supported in other avenues. The potential is there, but for us to identify that global star, that African icon, we need to rally behind their craft and offer it all the needed nourishment.
In my interaction with Malewezi last week, he rightly pointed out that when corporates offer support to artists, it is not like they are doing them a favour, but rather recognising the value and quality that artists bring to their brands.
While the situation remains that of despair, we remain encouraged that we still have some who regard art for what it is. That gives us hope that one day we will break the chain of ultra-deficiency that is laden in the creative industry.
