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Trust Khosa

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo has set aside the November 10 deadline for budding visual artists to register and participate in a financial literacy and entrepreneurship programme .

Running under the theme, “Financial freedom Equals Creative Freedom”, the programme is being held in collaboration with Akwande, Paperbag Africa, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), Ntombi Moyo Film Company, US Embassy, The Tech Village and Nissi Global.

Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35. The workshop will take place from November 18 to 24 during the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

In an interview, NGZ regional manager for Matabeleland, Silenkosi Moyo, said: “The response from emerging visual artists is overwhelming. November 10 is the deadline and we want it to run from November 18 during the (Global) Entrepreneurship Week.

“We are mainly going to tackle financial literacy and branding.”

She also outlined some of the key areas where visual artists were lagging behind.

“Marketing is one of the areas that we are going to tackle. It’s open to youthful visual artists.”

In an additional statement, the seven-day training workshop was also meant to empower emerging visual artists with artistic skills.

“The programme seeks to bridge the financial literacy, entrepreneurship and skills gap so that these may seize being a barrier to the artistic success of visual artists but instead become a springboard for creativity and artistic cultural flourishing.

“Visual artists, who are frequently overlooked in financial literacy efforts, are viewed solely as creatives rather than business-minded persons who face distinct obstacles in financial management.

“Irregular income streams, a lack of formal business training and limited access to financial resources can hinder their growth and sustainability.

“This programme aims to address these challenges by providing practical knowledge and skills that will empower artists with necessary skills to bridge these gaps,” reads the part of the statement.

The four main key areas of the programme are financial literacy, entrepreneurship skills development, design thinking, which seeks to equip artists with a human-centred approach to creating products and businesses by understanding the needs and desires of the audience allowing artists to create work that resonates deeply with their target audience and artistic skills enhancement

“One of the key objectives of the programme is to establish an Art association, a platform that will empower artists to collaborate, network, and collectively address industry challenges.

“Through fostering a sense of community, the association will create opportunities for artists to share knowledge, resources, and support each other’s growth.

“A short documentary film will also be produced to capture the journey of the participating artists and highlight the impact of the programme.

“This documentary will serve as a powerful tool to raise awareness locally and regionally about the importance of financial literacy, entrepreneurship and skills for artists, inspiring a new generation of creative talent.”

The project’s US Exchange Alumni team are the recipients of the Alumni Exchange Innovation Fund (AEIF) 2024 under the special grant category which was included this year in celebration of the Mandela Washington Fellowship’s 10th year Anniversary.

AEIF is supported and implemented by the US Embassy of Zimbabwe