LAST night Bulawayo hosted National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) and I wish to congratulate all those who walked away with an accolade for their tireless efforts in the previous year.
We have for so many years sung the song of recognition of our artistes and their hard work and Nama’s efforts to do so year in and year out are really appreciated.
It is now up to sponsors, in particular, the co-operate world to embrace such events and make that walk on the red carpet even more worthwhile for our beloved and creative artistes of various ages and genres.
The thorny issue in the arts fraternity remains the poor lifestyle led by most of our “celebrities” despite their huge achievements on the showbiz scene. We still grapple to find answers as to why it is so.
It would appear the arts have this renowned tendency of taking one from riches to rags in the same way they will have flown them from rags to riches.
We continue to read and see stories of so many of our beloved stage, fine arts and musical icons afforded pauper send-offs when they pass on — leaving their families in dire straits. Who is to blame for these tragic endings to flourishing careers?
Some have blamed the artistes for not investing in their future. Others have blamed record companies, promoters, managers and directors.
Strangely though as soon as one artiste is buried and we read in the news about the sorry state of their life, we all go on to forget about it and go on with our day-to-day life like nothing happened until misfortune befalls the next once-celebrated artiste.
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We as artistes just have the selfish sense that we will be immune to hard times that bedevilled some of our own.
Unless and until this problem is taken seriously by both those that manage the artistes and the artistes themselves, then we shall always sing the same blues tune.
I believe that the arts have a very serious cosmetic look syndrome. We are more worried about appearances than reality. We are so concerned about showing the glamour to the public while we sob on our pillows and go to bed on empty stomachs.
We hosted Nama last night. We dined, wined and donned colourful exquisite outfits. Do those outfits tell the real story of our lifestyles? Some may feel I have chosen the wrong time to address an issue so sensitive, but I insist that it is also the right time to reflect.
It is the correct time to ask one what that Nama has brought them save for fame and glory. It needs to be an inspiration to realise how much potential their creativity has.
The fact that they have won the award, or let alone been nominated, shows that Zimbabwe is watching their success as much as they will watch their progress be it for better or worse. That alone must give our artistes enough zeal to take responsibility for their future and fate.
A year ago, the National Arts Council tried to come up with a burial scheme for artistes. It died a natural death and one of the reasons was that there was lack of commitment from artistes to take up the offer.
In Bulawayo artistes also tried to form a burial society of sorts. It was very vibrant after the passing on of imbube icons Saimon Banda and Mqoqi, but no sooner did the pain heal than the scheme disappeare into thin air.
Most recently Nyaradzo Funeral Services met artistes with a new offer for funeral benefits. Time will tell.
One thing that these life investments, insurance and funeral policies tend to ignore in their offers to assist artistes is the nature of the arts career itself. It is far from a medical or teaching career in the sense that it is seasonal.
While a nurse or a teacher may be able to pay instalments for well over 20 or more years monthly to sustain a policy, the same cannot be said for the arts and sports locally.
These are very short careers that flourish and bring a lot of returns for the artiste for a given time. At that time they make enough money to sustain a living and even invest in life policies.
The problem is that most of the schemes expect one to contribute monthly over a long period of time and in some cases a lifetime. That becomes a catch-22 setup for the artiste whose bright days normally will not last that long.
My appeal, therefore, is that insurance companies, funeral policies and investment schemes need to design packages that take into cognisance the nature of the artistes’ job and its sustainability over time.
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