Zomba primary schools to benefit from Mawu, Vaam art project

Primary schools in Zomba are expected to benefit from a creative arts project that combines poetry and illustration with the aim of nurturing young talent while promoting literacy and visual storytelling.

The initiative titled ‘An open creative arts collaboration,” is a joint effort by the Malawi Writers Union (Mawu) and Visual Arts Association of Malawi (Vaam).

In an interview, multimedia specialist and founder of Open Art and lead of the project, Onika Mbewe, said the initiative aims to introduce learners to the process of writing and creating visuals for their stories.

“We want learners to tell their own stories and create images to tell those stories on their own. For literal purposes but also just boost their confidence in their artistic skills,” she said.

Mbewe who is also a member of Vaam, added that the project emphasises the importance of collaboration in the creative sector, demonstrating that different art forms can coexist to create something meaningful.

“We want them to understand that when someone is skilled at writing and another is skilled at illustration, they can still come together to create something special. Writing is not just about words, illustrations are equally important when telling stories,” she said.

Vaam Eastern Chapter chairperson Kelly Sande said the initiative is crucial as it aims to support skilled learners who do not have mentors to guide and nurture them.

“When we reached out to schools, the response was overwhelming. Many pupils possess valuable skills but lack the guidance needed to develop them. This initiative will help prevent these talents from going to waste due to the absence of support,” he said.

The poems and illustrations created by the pupils will be compiled into a published collection, according to organisers

The initiative targets learners from Mponda, Mtiya, Police, and Bwaila primary schools and has already begun training sessions at Montfort Media House in Zomba.

The programme engages learners in poetry-writing inspired by daily life, folktales (nthano), and oral traditions (miyambi), while introducing them to various illustration techniques.

Poet and Mawu treasurer Jacinta Chisi who is training the pupils on how they can write poems, said the fusion of poetry and visual art will help get more pupils on board.

“We want to help children develop both literacy and artistic skills, while they think that only other people can develop such content we want to inspire them that they can also do it,” she said.

Chisi said they plan to expand the project depending on the outcomes of the inaugural initiative to reach secondary school students.

“This will result in a published collection of illustrated poems that we hope will be cherished in classrooms across Malawi and hopefully we can reach out to more students, ” she said.

Chisi also appealed to partners and sponsors to support the initiative as it is unfunded.

Mawu president Shadreck Chikoti hailed the collaboration saying that it is relevant for promoting Malawian literature as it focuses on nurturing young writers and promoting literacy.

“The project provides opportunities for learners to express themselves creatively promoting literal works from within the country,” he said.

The trainings are scheduled throughout April, with poetry sessions and illustration classes running. Participants were nominated by school heads and Vaam’s Eastern Chapter.