![Iyasa on stage. — Picture by Mgcini Nyoni]()
Iyasa on stage — Picture by Mgcini Nyoni
Bongani Ndlovu & Bruce Ndlovu
The number 13 is associated with bad luck and if this year’s Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo is anything to go by, there is truth behind this long held superstition.
The arts extravaganza, which is supposed to welcome the coming of spring to the City of Kings, is expected by many arts enthusiasts to be in full bloom during what is now its 13th edition, but as it draws to a close tonight, many are encouraging organisers to go back to the drawing board and rebrand.
Each edition of the arts fete now raises a stink that is impossible to ignore and those that love the city and its much vaunted arts scene, are baying for fresh ideas to again ignite interest in what used to be the Bulawayo’s pride and joy.
![Drum majorettes at the Bulawayo Street Carnival]()
Drum majorettes at the Bulawayo Street Carnival
The same event that used to fire up the city for days on end now feels like a tired and uninspiring drag that just does the same things over and over again.
Intwasa as it is, is a pale shadow of what it was intended to be when the city’s best minds in the arts came together and gave birth to the idea of all encompassing arts event.
What is meant to be a feast for arts lovers has over the years turned into the definition of an unbalanced diet as those that follow Intwasa proceedings closely are fed the same groups time and again.
The freshness of spring has not brought anything new to Intwasa’s stages over the past few years.The festival has in fact become a classic case of old wine in new bottles.The undeniably talented and world class groups such as Iyasa have been abused by the festival, featuring year after year. It is as if the powers that be at Intwasa are mocking arts followers for their short memories that cannot recall that the same groups featured last year and the year before.
The festival’s all-weather friends like Iyasa, have been there for the organisers through thick and thin and hence one can see why they always feature.
Anyone with a reasonable knowledge of the city’s arts scene knows how united most of the major groups and players are, backing each other when times are rough as they undoubtedly are at the moment.
The arts have been wrecked by the uncertain and unstable economic environment and as sponsorship dries up, the tried, tested and loyal are usually the only option. However, the constant recycling of groups has become a cancer that has left the festival tasteless. The audiences that attended this year’s events are telling. This year most of those who are attending the festival are artistes who want to watch their peers on stage.
While it is touted as an international festival of the arts, there is nothing new to show year after year at Intwasa with a large percentage of the artistes on show having been on show in other Bulawayo events at various times of the year.
So when they take to the Intwasa stage, there is nothing new for people. From this year’s proceedings, it is clear that the majority of the citizens in Bulawayo know about Intwasa because of references from people and the media. Many did not know when the event started and the star attractions were equally a mystery. The festival lacks that X Factor, the star attraction that will get tongues wagging. Even the street carnival failed to breathe life into this year’s proceedings, with those that attended labouring under the September sun during a lifeless and colourless parade that seemed a mockery of the word carnival.
The disorganisation and lack of advertisement of the carnival seemed like an omen of what was to come, with Wednesday morning’s dull affair showcasing just how far the mighty have fallen. Even on social media, the advertising has been poor, with more activity on director Raisedon Baya’s page than the festival’s official page.
And this was the same for most of the year, with little to no activity all throughout the year, as there seemed to be nothing to update people about. In the age of social media, Facebook is one of the most effective advertising tools on the planet. But it’s used sparingly by the Intwasa team.
Perhaps Intwasa’s most telling failure has been how it has been outpaced tremendously by Harare’s Shoko Festival, an event that is still only in its infancy compared to the 13-year-old Intwasa.
While a toddler like Shoko has artistes such as Emtee, the high flying Soul Jah Love and even Bulawayo’s own Cal Vin on its posters, a fully grown Intwasa has no artistes of that stature, and like it has in the past few years, appears to be a few light years behind a festival whose only focus is urban music.
The festival’s failures have been mentioned only in whispers with many seemingly afraid of telling the organisers to their face that they are failing in their task. However, the whispers are now turning into a chorus of discontent.
The Bulawayo Arts Festival was a world class event that showed the city that it could pull off the amazing if everyone put in the right amount of effort. If Intwasa is to be great again, more people need to come on board in organising it.
The lack of sponsorship now seems like an overused excuse. If the coffers are dry, perhaps Intwasa could also take stock and regroup like Hifa did last year.
Perhaps the auctioning of the festival’s office furniture last year was an indicator of what was to come during the arts extravaganza. If nothing changes, Intwasa will lose more than the office chairs, filing cabinets and fridges it lost during that auction. The festival is losing the hearts and minds of the city.
