The NACZ January 2025 Newsletter Issue 05
Point Black is pleased to present the January 2025 edition of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe newsletter. The amazing team at the NACZ prepared this newsletter, which Point Black edited and designed.
Read and download the new edition below:
DiRECTOR’S Welcome Remarks
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Director Mr Napoleon Nyanhi
I welcome you to the first edition of our newsletter in the year 2025. As we begin the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments and look forward to the exciting opportunities ahead. I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our team, and I am proud of what we have done together. From the successful completion and launch of the Zimbabwe Film Strategy, we have made significant progress in mobilizing government support for the film sector.
As we move into 2025, we will continue to focus on the formalization of all art disciplines. This is highly critical if we are to make our Cultural and Creative Industries a vibrant and sustainable sector that contributes significantly to our economy. I am glad to share with you that this year, we will be unveiling a new experience of dealing with NACZ where the registration process is quick, efficient and user-friendly. We want NACZ to benefit as many artists in the country as possible. Thank you for your continued support and partnership.
Government takes strides towards the protection of IP
Nicholas Moyo Permanent Secretary of MoSRAC
The Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture - in partnership with the British Council - successfully launched an action plan for the Anti-Piracy Strategy for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) on 23 January 2025. This comes as refreshing news to the sector as creatives have been battling with Intellectual Property violations, where opportunists reap from the hard work of an artist, and the originator of the idea usually has nothing to show for it. Speaking at the launch, The Permanent Secretary, Mr Nicholas Moyo, emphasised the importance of realising CCIs as drivers of capital and economic growth. Also speaking at the NDS 2 consolidation workshop in Kadoma, the Acting Chief Secretary in the OPC, Reverend Paul Damasane, mentioned that the effective enforcement of property rights is among the anchors of NDS 2.
Mural For The Late Pathisa Nyathi Unveiled
Pathisa Nyathi Mural at Amagugu
Amagugu International Heritage Centre has unveiled a mural of the late NAMA legend and former NACZ board member Pathisa Nyathi. The event celebrated the remarkable contributions of the Centre’s visionary by also hosting an exhibition showcasing his impactful work as an author. Mr Nyathi was a published poet, playwright, historian and biographer par excellence. In attendance at the unveiling ceremony was the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Honorable Edgar Moyo, Chief Dakamela, Arts, Culture and Heritage Officer Nomashawekazi Damasane, among others. Amagugu will remain the beacon of Nyathi’s great work.
NACZ & UNESCO on CCI Formalization Drive
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, in partnership with UNESCO successfully hosted the Formalization Process Workshop in Harare on the 28th of January 2025. The Workshop was attended by Captains of the CCI industries from all the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe. The objective of the engagement was to equip the provincial representatives with knowledge that they could pass on to their colleagues in their respective areas. Training topics included, “Formalization of NACZ Registrations”, which was facilitated by NACZ Programs Officer Mr Oliver Chauke. A Presentation titled “Art in the Digital Era”, was facilitated by digital expert Mr Phil Chard, “Pensions and Social Security” by Nicole Yon & Solomon Nzuwa from NSSA and to round up the day was Mrs Fungiso Muchengi from Zimra, guiding creatives on Tax Compliance. UNESCO Head of Culture, Elena Constantinou promised to continue supporting the arts and culture activities in Zimbabwe.
Mrs Fungiso Muchengi of ZIMRA & Creatives at the Formalisation Process Workshop
Massive Turnout for Matobo Goes Fashion
The official opening of "Matobo Goes Fashion and Beyond” saw a record crowd of vibrant and enthusiastic people at the Art Gallery in Bulawayo. The event was an unforgettable celebration of colour, tradition, and heritage, setting a new standard for art exhibition launches at the gallery and the nation at large. This proves that fashion is a powerful force to reckon with in the Zimbabwean arts and culture landscape. The entire event was a resplendent tribute to the women whose art and creativity brought people together. All thanks to funding from the German Embassy, technical support from Ekhaya Gaia Trust, Amagugu Cultural Heritage Centre, the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe and the National Fashion Council of Zimbabwe. The exhibition opened on the 17th of January and is running at the gallery until the 7th of March.
New Weekly Radio Program for Creatives
NACZ in partnership with Star FM has started, “The Creative Economy”, a weekly program airing every Wednesday from 11.40hrs to 1200hrs. The show is about all things arts, encouraging the nation that art can be embraced as a professional career. It is also characterised by some success stories in various art disciplines sharing their experience and how they manage to maintain their craft as a sustainable business. Among the guests this month was Mr Marcus Gora, who is a renowned gallerist, NACZ Board Member, and Mokoomba Band Manager among other portfolios in the industry. He shared the importance of professionalism, especially for strategic positioning in the international Market. Manicaland-based Based Choreographer and Founder of Chenhaka Trust, Mr Taurai Moyo, also shared his artistic journey as a dancer on one of the episodes. He encouraged parents to support children who display artistic talents as this can be their calling. Tune in to Star FM every Wednesday, from 11.40 to 12.00hrs, for insights on how art can be a source of livelihood.
NAMA AWARDS
Zimbabwe’s largest and most prestigious awards ceremony, NAMA is around the corner. The 23rd edition will be held in Harare on the 1st of March 2025. Running under the theme, of Afrofuturism, we look forward to unveiling an energetic and scintillating show as preparations are already at advanced stages. The theme is centred around anticipating the future of Zimbabwe’s creative industry, taking pride in our image and making a distinct mark on the arts global arena.
Musician Emergy Chizanga (Freeman) Receiving An Award
The Creative Break
Arts and cultural activities are often viewed as luxury, also going hand in glove with tourism and holidays. This has seen the month of January being the slowest and most creatives have taken this time to go to the drawing board and strategize. The end of January marks the return of a lot of CCI activities hopefully with new and unique concepts for the usual consumer. As we continue in February, anticipate the ignition of activities around all the arts sectors.
NACZ Registration & Licensing
The UNESCO report on the state of informality in the cultural and creative sectors in Zimbabwe showed that the arts are highly informalized and that has led to exploitation, failure to access funding and unsustainable business models. In 2025, we are leaving no artist behind and as we drive towards formalisation we encourage all artists to take the first step which is registering with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. NACZ is registering artists in the following categories:
Arts Groups
Arts Institutions/ Organisations/ Associations/ Churches/ Arts Trusts
Community Festivals
Commercial Festivals
Arts Awards
Business Promoters
Venue Promoters
Studios / Galleries
NGO/ CSO/ Trust
Individual Artists
Benefits of NACZ Registration:
Duty Exemptions
Capacity Building and Training:
Access to grant funding
Access to Resources and Facilities
Promotion and Visibility
Affiliation and Support
Networking and Collaboration
Advocacy and Representation
Professional Development and Credibility
Opportunities for International Collaboration
Contribution to Arts Development
More information about registration can be found on our website www.nacz.co.zw
MUSIC INDUSTRY EDUCATION
How Zimbabwean Artists Can Unlock Their Art's Potential
The digital tools and services offer incredible Zimbabwean artists a chance to connect with a global audience, build a sustainable income, and spread their artistic voices. But navigating this new landscape requires knowledge, tools, and a strategic approach as part of its Artist Accelerator Program - Point Black is dedicated to providing these resources at no cost to Zimbabwean artists. Last week we presented on this topic at a workshop held in partnership with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and UNESCO. The workshop titled "Art in the Digital Era" was crafted to help artists and trainers understand how best to leverage these tools. This summary highlights key takeaways and addresses common questions from the presentation.
How to Protect Your Art
Copyright Protection: Safeguarding Your Creative Work is Your Right It’s easy for your content to be misused. The Copyright Act in Zimbabwe, still provides fundamental protection to your creative ideas, as long you express them and document your process. At the workshop, participants learned practical steps they can take today to ensure it can’t happen
Watermarking: Add your name or a logo to your digital images before posting online. This makes it difficult for others to use your art without permission. Numerous apps such as Canva or Picsart allow you to simply add your watermark before you upload your art to the internet
Terms of Use: If you are sharing content with a third party ensure you have an agreement in place that states the “terms of use”. For example, you may post this video on your profile but it cannot be edited without my approval. This does not have to be a long legal document. A simple WhatsApp message or email that is acknowledged by the recipient will suffice.
Documentation: Take photos of your art during the creation process, save sketches and drafts, and document when and where your art was created. This helps establish your ownership.
Google Alerts: Set up free Google Alerts for your name, your art's title, and any keywords associated with your work. Get notified when someone mentions it online.
Building Your Digital Presence: Connect with Your Audience, Globally and Locally To break into the digital arena, you need digital tools, in the era where you need to be as economical as possible with your data the following were highlighted
If you have Social Media pages with any followers, the first step is to convert your followers into Names, Phone Numbers and Email Addresses.
WhatsApp Business: A powerful tool to communicate directly with fans, share images of your work, arrange for commissions, and even process sales using mobile money transfer solutions like EcoCash or OneMoney.
Facebook Page: Beyond a profile, it can serve as your portfolio, biography, a place to post community events and connect with fans
Instagram: Great for visual artists, but use it strategically to avoid high data consumption. Optimize images before uploading, limit video use, and engage with comments thoughtfully.
YouTube Channel: Expand your digital portfolio and showcase your art to the world
Pindula: Pindula is a Zimbabwean-made online platform that provides news, business directories, and general information about Zimbabwe. It is also a free Wiki site that can be used by any notable Zimbabweans looking to have their biography and links hosted online.
NAMA23
How To Stand Out Online
Your Content Should Elicit Emotion: Whether it makes people smile, think, or feel deeply. If you can capture the audience with these types of content you are bound to gain a fan base.
Create Story-Driven Content: There is nothing more important than telling a story as an artist.
Be Consistent: You should post regularly and your content should have consistent themes. A page for a stone sculptor should not have a post about Liverpool’s last match results.
Feedback For The Workshop & Answers
Data Costs: Access to affordable data is a major hurdle. Participants discussed how Zimbabwean artists can use lite versions of applications to save data and create more accessible content for the global audience
Low digital Literacy: By making sure you start small and iterate it is easier to build your knowledge and skill to enter the digital sphere in small and steady steps.
Misunderstood Legal Frameworks: The government, NACZ, and organizations are seeking to empower citizens with more insight about IP. So please follow what they’re doing especially via their workshops.
For more information and resources for all artists, be sure to follow NACZ on social media and also join The Artist Accelerator Community where more resources for artists will be shared.
JOIN THE ARTIST ACCELERATOR USING THIS QR CODE or link
Get In Touch with The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
Email: natartsziminfo@gmail.com
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