The Ministry of Tourism in Nakonde District in Muchinga province has affirmed its commitment in rendering support to the growth of the art industry in the district.
Nakonde District Cultural Affairs Officer, Kashinge Chulu, said the department of culture and arts will soon hold an event that will promote the expansion of visual arts in the border town.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Nakonde today, Ms. Chulu clarified that the department specifically decided to broaden the visual artists’ market because most people are not aware of their availability in the region compared to other forms of art.
”We picked on visual arts to help them grow as a group because as you know most people are not aware that we have these services are there in Nakonde. This way, even there income will increase through the purchases that will be made,” she said.
She added that in future the Ministry hopes to have a more established set up where artists can easily be accessed by potential customers.
“And maybe going forward in an event of a cultural village, these products can be permanently showcased at a specific point or at a cultural village,” she said.
Ms. Chulu pointed out that the cultural event which is scheduled for 25th September, 2021 will be the first of its kind to take place in Nakonde and so far the preparations are going on well despite a few challenges.
“It is the first time we are holding such an event in Nakonde. The preparations are going accordingly , we have had a meeting with the district arts committee that are in charge of mobilizing these groups of people of which we have had about 3 or 4 visual artists coming forward and hoping that we will have more on board before this week ends,” she said.
She further appealed to well-wishers to come on board to help with what they can in support of the upcoming event.
“We are going round for fundraising and asking well-wishers to help us with whatever minimal amount they are willing to give,” she said.
Ms. Chulu urged all residents of Nakonde to come forward and support the local artists, adding that art can be a major contributor to a good economy if it is prioritized.
Zambia is a signatory of the Geneva convention but intellectual property rights are abundantly flouted here. The government does nothing.
If you look at music products, radio stations including Znbc do not pay artists any royalties for playing their music and government supervises such illegal activity.
For the uninitiated Royalties are a sum of money owed to an individual for the commercial exploitation of work that they have created. The mushrooming broadcasting stations in Zambia ignore copyright laws and government needs to revoke their licenses