MASVINGO artistes have bemoaned the dearth of venues and facilities necessary for them to carry out their work.
This came out during the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) stakeholders’ workshop held at Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo last week.
Kudzaiishe Murove, who manages the Tongai Jnr Moyo-led Utakataka Express (4×4), said the lack of arts facilities was constraining the development of the arts.
“We do not have public venues to rely on for rehearsals. Back in the day, we used to rely on Charles Austin Theatre but the owners — City of Masvingo — chose to hire it out to private owners.
“We are happy that the City of Masvingo has managed to reclaim the joint back but sadly the venue is not yet conducive for shows as it was left in bad shape by the previous tenants,” Murove said.
Vadamburi Express band leader Last Chirambamuriwo concurred with Murove. He said the lack of facilities in Zimbabwe’s oldest town was the main reason why artistes from Masvingo are relocating to bigger urban centres such as Harare to further their careers.
“There is no public performing facility to talk of in Masvingo. We only have private bars and nightclubs. The City of Masvingo has leased its arts facilities, making it hard for local artistes to find places to rehearse. To make matters worse, private entertainment venues usually charge per hour or so for rehearsals which is beyond the reach of many artistes,” he said.
In response to the artistes’ concerns, Zimura deputy director Henry Makombe said his organisation would engage the city of Masvingo for land to construct an arts venue.
“Already we have acquired land in Bulawayo where we intend to build an arts centre with facilities such as rehearsal rooms, studios and offices, among others, for the benefit of musicians. We also intend to work with Masvingo to come up with the facility,” he said.
It is not only musicians who have been frustrated by the dearth of facilities and opportunities in Masvingo, award-winning filmmaker Sydney Taivavashe recently told our sister paper Daily News on Sunday that he was forced to move from Masvingo to Harare in search of better opportunities.
“I fell in love with filmmaking back in 2003 when I was staying in the small mining town of Mashava in Masvingo. I saw a film ribbon from a projector and seeing the images and how the projector turned them into motion left an indelible mark on me.
“While in Masvingo, I used my college fees to invest into art and that was when I moved to Harare where there are better opportunities and facilities,” Taivavashe said.
Taivavashe is now a force to reckon with within the arts industry. He is the director behind internationally-acclaimed films such as Gonarezhou, The Story of Mbuya Nehanda and Poor Cousins, among others.