COPPERBELT CREATIVE SECTOR TAKES CENTRE STAGE AS NATIONAL LEADERSHIP ARRIVES FOR MAJOR WORKING VISIT

Sep 28

7 min read

Artists across the Copperbelt are encouraged to attend, engage and be part of the next chapter of the province’s creative sector

The Copperbelt is preparing to receive senior national leadership from the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts and the National Arts Council of Zambia for an important working visit that will bring Government, artists, arts institutions and the corporate sector into closer conversation about the development and future of the creative sector.

The visit comes at an important time for a province with a proud history in music, theatre, film, television, broadcasting and other forms of artistic expression. Beyond highlighting Government programmes and ongoing interventions, the engagements will provide an opportunity for artists to interact directly with national leadership, understand what is being undertaken within the sector and be part of the next chapter of the Copperbelt’s creative development.

The delegation will be led by Kangwa Chileshe, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts, and will include Esther Ngambi, Director Arts, Mable Beene Nediwe, Director Youth, Gibson Munyaule, Director Sport, Maureen Lilanda, National Arts Council Board Chairperson, and Adrian Maanka Chipindi, Director of the National Arts Council of Zambia.

Other arts leadership from the province will participate in the programme, while NAMA President Morgan Mbulo will also be on hand to receive and engage with the visiting delegation on behalf of the media arts community.

MORE THAN A MEETING, A WORKING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CREATIVE SECTOR

One of the important aspects of the visit is that it will not be restricted to speeches or meetings behind closed doors. The programme takes the leadership into some of the spaces where artistic activity takes place and provides opportunities for direct interaction with practitioners.

The official itinerary includes an engagement with artists at Chingola Arts Society, where the delegation is also expected to inspect the arts facility. In Kitwe, the leadership will similarly meet artists at Kitwe Little Theatre and inspect the facility as part of the working programme.

These visits are significant because discussions about developing the arts become more meaningful when leadership can see the environments in which artists create, rehearse, perform and interact with audiences.

Arts facilities are more than buildings. When properly supported and managed, they can become centres of economic and cultural activity. They can host theatre productions, film screenings, rehearsals, festivals, workshops, exhibitions, training programmes and other activities that create opportunities for both established and emerging artists.

The working visit therefore provides an opportunity to appreciate interventions already undertaken at some facilities while also examining areas where further attention may be required to enable artistic spaces to operate effectively and sustainably.

The programme will extend beyond the traditional arts spaces. The delegation is also scheduled to visit Kwilimuna Youth Centre Resource in Kalulushi and Katembula Mpongwe, allowing the leadership to appreciate other facilities and initiatives within its wider mandate.

TAKING THE CONVERSATION TO RADIO AND TELEVISION

An equally important part of the working visit will be the media engagements.

Not every artist on the Copperbelt will be able to attend the physical meetings in Chingola and Kitwe. Some will be working, producing, rehearsing or operating from other parts of the province. The scheduled radio and television appearances therefore provide an important opportunity for the conversation to reach a much wider audience.

According to the working itinerary, the visiting leadership is scheduled to participate in a Kokoliko TV media engagement on Wednesday, 30 September, at 11:00 hours. The programme specifically identifies the purpose of the engagement as highlighting Government programmes.

A further TV and radio engagement with YAR FM TV is scheduled for Thursday, 1 October, at 11:00 hours, also with the purpose of highlighting Government programmes. The working itinerary notes that media arrangements and times remain subject to confirmation.

Artists and members of the public who cannot attend the physical engagements are therefore encouraged to follow the confirmed broadcast announcements and tune in.

These media appearances are particularly important because access to information is itself part of empowerment. Artists need to understand what programmes exist, what Government is undertaking, where opportunities may be emerging and how institutions responsible for the sector intend to support its development.

The visit should therefore reach beyond the people seated inside the meeting venues. Through radio, television and subsequent media coverage, the wider Copperbelt creative community should also be able to follow the conversation.

STRENGTHENING THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE ARTS AND CORPORATE SECTOR

Another significant component of the programme is engagement with the Copperbelt corporate community.

The itinerary includes a courtesy call on the Corporate establishments to discuss sponsorship and internship opportunities. This is an important conversation for the Copperbelt creative sector and Zambia as a whole.

The province hosts some of Zambia’s largest companies, particularly within mining, energy and related industries. These companies operate within communities that are also home to filmmakers, musicians, actors, photographers, theatre practitioners, designers and many other creative professionals.

There is therefore considerable room for stronger cooperation between the corporate world and the creative sector.

Through Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, companies can contribute towards arts infrastructure, talent development, festivals, cultural programmes, training, internships and other initiatives capable of strengthening communities. At the same time, the relationship should go beyond sponsorship. Creative businesses themselves provide valuable professional services to the corporate sector, including film production, advertising, photography, graphic design, animation, event production, documentaries and digital communication.

Building stronger relationships between these sectors can therefore create opportunities that are sustainable and mutually beneficial.

ARTISTS MUST BE PART OF THE NEXT CHAPTER

NAMA President Morgan Mbulo has urged filmmakers, musicians, actors, producers, theatre practitioners, photographers, visual artists, content creators and the wider artistic community across the Copperbelt to take advantage of the visit.

Mbulo said artists who are able to attend should come forward, listen, interact and gain a clearer understanding of what is being laid down for the sector. Those unable to attend physically should make an effort to follow the radio and television engagements so that they too can hear directly from the visiting leadership.

He emphasised that the conversation should not only be about immediate empowerment opportunities. Artists should also understand the longer term direction of the sector, including infrastructure development, capacity building, partnerships and the creation of sustainable opportunities for creative practitioners.

The visit provides an opportunity for artists to appreciate Government’s intentions and interventions while also allowing leadership to hear directly from practitioners about the realities experienced within the sector.

REVITALISING THE COPPERBELT’S CREATIVE SECTOR

The engagements also come against a broader desire to see the Copperbelt regain its strength as one of Zambia’s major centres of artistic and cultural activity.

The province has a rich creative history. Across generations, the Copperbelt has contributed significantly to Zambia’s music, theatre, broadcasting, film and popular culture. The challenge today is not simply to remember that history, but to build upon it.

Revitalisation will require functioning artistic spaces, stronger institutions, training opportunities, access to markets, technology, investment and a closer relationship between artists and the businesses operating within the province.

It will also require the creative community itself to participate.

Mbulo has re emphasised that rebuilding the Copperbelt creative sector will depend on artists being willing to engage with the institutions and opportunities around them. Government programmes can be more meaningful when practitioners understand them, while advocacy becomes more effective when artists participate constructively in engagements where their sector is being discussed.

There is also an opportunity for the Copperbelt to redefine what a modern creative economy can look like. The province’s artistic history can be combined with contemporary film, television, digital content, animation, music, theatre and other emerging forms of creative enterprise.

The objective should not simply be to restore what once existed, but to build something capable of serving the next generation.

GOVERNMENT, ARTISTS AND CORPORATE ZAMBIA IN THE SAME CONVERSATION

Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the working visit is that it connects several parts of the ecosystem that need one another.

Government provides policy direction and programmes. Institutions such as the National Arts Council provide sector leadership and coordination. Associations represent and organise practitioners. Artists create the work. Arts facilities provide spaces for that creativity to develop. The corporate sector has resources, markets and opportunities for partnership.

When these elements operate separately, progress can be difficult. When they begin communicating and working together, the possibilities become much greater.

The Copperbelt working visit therefore represents more than the arrival of a delegation. It creates an opportunity to strengthen relationships that should continue long after the official programme has ended.

NAMA has welcomed the continued efforts by Government through the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts and the National Arts Council to engage practitioners directly, visit arts facilities and explore partnerships that could strengthen the sector.

The association has particularly welcomed the attention being given to creative sector empowerment and the willingness of national leadership to come to the Copperbelt and interact with artists within their own creative spaces.

COPPERBELT ARTISTS, LET US BE THERE

For artists across the Copperbelt, the message is simple.

Those who can attend the physical engagements are encouraged to be present and participate. Those who cannot attend should follow the scheduled radio and television appearances and stay informed about the discussions taking place.

The visit is an opportunity to understand Government programmes, interact with national leadership, appreciate ongoing interventions, discuss the condition and future of artistic infrastructure and strengthen the conversation about how the corporate sector can participate in rebuilding the creative economy.

The Copperbelt has the history. It has the artists. It has the infrastructure that can be revitalised. It has a powerful corporate community and a new generation of creatives working across traditional and digital platforms.

The task now is to bring these strengths together.

Let us turn up, listen, engage and be part of the next chapter of the Copperbelt creative sector.

By Morgan MbuloPresident, National Association of Media Arts, NAMAMedia Consultant