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Arts Reporters
At every platform where artistes meet to discuss their issues, the chorus about lack of corporate support grows louder. Such platforms easily blur the artistes’ personal, genre, religious, political, class and principle differences. They become birds of the same feather that flock together. They sing from the same hymn book.

Musicians, dancers, actors, authors, filmmakers, sculptors, painters and many other artistes from various genres concur they are not getting adequate support to develop the arts.

They cite examples of different countries where art is big business because the corporate world massively bankrolls the creative sector and wonder why companies back home are oblivious of the potential of the world of arts.

And they are justified because few players in the corporate world recognise the importance of the arts.

Stakeholders in the arts industry feel companies prefer other sectors to arts in their funding schemes and this has strangled most arts projects in the country.

A number of talent search programmes have been initiated, but most of them fall by the wayside before achieving their goals.

Many talented artistes have turned to other professions while many good projects have gone to waste due to lack of resources.

However, a few companies that have stood firm in bankrolling arts projects have been commended for their efforts.

One of the companies that have been behind arts development initiatives over the years is Delta Beverages.

The company works with artistes and arts administrators in competitions like Chibuku Road to Fame, Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Festival, Jikinya Dance Festival and Coca-Cola Top 50 (on Radio Zimbabwe).

Besides the arts contests, the company is also involved in festivals like Harare International Festivals of the Arts, Intwasa Arts Festival, Chimanimani Arts Festival and Summer Beer Festival while on television they sponsor Coke on The Beat.

In an interview Delta Beverages marketing manager Patricia Murambinda said the beverage manufacturing giant has a serious social responsibility programme and they value arts and entertainment.

They want to see the arts sector grow to international standards and they channel resources towards the sector annually to discover talent at grassroots level and also help established artistes reach out to their fans while providing platforms for upcoming artistes.

“We have been involved with projects in the arts sector for a long time. As a company, we realised the importance of the arts sector many years ago and we have been working with artistes and various organisations in the arts sector to promote various genres,” said Murambinda.

“We have programmes that reach out to rural communities and programmes that target schoolchildren. We also have projects for established artistes and various competitions that were initiated to encourage talented artistes consider their field as a serious profession that has great potential.”

Murambinda said it was Delta Beverages’ aim to develop the arts sector to international standards.

“In many countries the arts contribute significantly to the economy and we want to see the same happening in Zimbabwe. Hollywood is what it is today because some organisations decided to invest in the arts. Artistes in Nigeria and South Africa are funded well and they have achieved tremendous results for their countries.

“Zimbabwe has great potential because we have talented artistes that have even made it on the international scene. With resources, such talents can go places and we will continue working towards that goal. We know it is not an easy journey, but we have been on this journey for many years and we will continue travelling on this route until we reach our destination.

“If more players unite for the development of the arts we will be telling an exciting story in the next few years. Someone has to be committed to the arts for the sector to grow. Delta Beverages is committed and will always be committed to development of the arts.”

Delta Beverages mainly works with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in developmental projects in the sector.

Chibuku Road to Fame

The competition started in 2001 and has brought to the fore various upcoming groups that showcase their style at provincial and national levels.

Each provincial winner gets $1 000 and they proceed to national finals where the winning group is awarded $5 000 while second and third positions are given $4 000 and $3 000 respectively.

The winning group at national level also gets a recording contract for one year. Delta Beverages goes on to organise album launches for the new releases although most of the albums do not make much impact because of lack of marketing from record companies.

The competition is popular for bringing established musicians on stage after the competition and people like the event because they attend for free and at times get beverages at discounted prices.

Alick Macheso, the late Tongai Moyo, Suluman Chimbetu, Oliver Mtukudzi and Jah Prayzah have performed at the event that draws thousands of music followers and exhibits talent among young people.

Romeo Gasa, Mnandi Express and The Way band have been able to go beyond the competition to record and recorded albums that have helped them enter mainstream music industry.

Jikinya Dance Festival

Last week primary schools from across the country gathered at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton for the annual Jikinya Dance Festival, the brainchildof NACZ and Delta.

Jikinya has for many years exhibited talent among the young people while it also strives for cultural heritage preservation through encouraging children to pursue various traditional dances.

The competition also features 10 representatives from each province. Primary schools from around the country showcase their traditional dance skills at the competition that has a category for compulsory dance that ensures exchange of cultural dances among pupils of various backgrounds.

More than 2 000 pupils take part in the competition every year and the major thrust is to safeguard cultural heritage through dance.

Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Festival

Also on a cultural heritage preservation note, Delta works with NACZ and National Traditional Dance Trust of Zimbabwe to run Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Festival that targets adults.

Annually all provinces participate in the competition, performing various traditional dances that exhibit the country’s culture and identity. The traditional dance groups come together to celebrate culture and compete for monetary rewards of the competition.

Provincial winners pocket $1 000 each while at national finals champions walk away with $4 000, first runner-up goes away with $3 000 and second runner-up pockets $2 000.

Delta started sponsoring the competition in 1986 and this year 130 groups countrywide participated in the competition.

Traditional dance groups like Hwamanda, Zvido Zvevanhu, Ben Arinoti and Villa 1 Nyau have participated at the festival. The finals have traditionally been held in Harare, but this year organisers decentralised the festival and the finals were held in Bulawayo where Makarekare group from Mashonaland East scooped the top prize.

Harare International Festival of the Arts

Delta Beverages has been part of HIFA for many years and sponsored platforms for artistes to showcase their talent. The company runs the Coca-Cola Green Arena that is regarded as the biggest social interaction space at HIFA and brings various upcoming groups to music lovers.

Besides the arena, Delta also sponsors the Golden Pilsener Day of the festival and promotes local and international artistes that perform at the festival on the day. A number of musicians have benefited through the beverage manufacturer’s involvement at HIFA.

Although the festival will not be held next year, Delta has been a constant partner of the biggest arts festival in the country.

Besides HIFA, Delta is also involved with Intwasa Festival held in Bulawayo and Chimanimani Arts Festival. At Intwasa the company has Chibuku Day and Chibuku Stage that enhance their contribution to the arts while sponsorship to Chimanimani Arts Festival is done through Shumba Mahewu and Chibuku brands.

Lion Lager Summer Beer Festival

Although people pay to get into this festival that mainly hosts international stars, the event has been a platform for local artistes to shine before huge crowds. This year the festival gave way to Castle Lager 120 years celebrations that were graced by Jamaica’s Konshens and attracted about 12 000 people.

A number of local musicians showcased their talents before the huge crowd.

The festival has also hosted international acts that include P-Square, Fantan Mojah, Cocoa Tea, Beenie Man and D’Banj. Local artistes that have benefited from the concert include Winky D, Jah Prayzah, Tocky Vibes, Soul Jah Love and Shinsoman.

Other events involving local have also been initiated by Delta Bevarages. The events include Turn Up the Nights and Sting Shutdown that targets college and university students.

Miller Sound Clash

A number of local DJs have taken part in the competition that has exposed good selectors to the international scene.

Popular disc jockey Ray Dizz was a beneficiary of the programme that sends national winners to Las Vegas in the United States for international exposure.

The competition is held annually and many DJs have been discovered in the contest. Although one winner travels to the US, many other DJs showcase their talents and made names through the contest.

Radio Zimbabwe Top 50

Through its Coca-Cola brand, Delta Beverages sponsors the weekly Top 20 music charts on Radio Zimbabwe which culminate in the annual Top 50 that is held on New Year’s Eve.

Leonard Zhakata won the annual competition last year and many other local musicians have pocketed cash in the contest.

The company also sponsors Coke on the Beat on national television where various artistes and their videos are featured. Many artistes have benefited from the two broadcast programmes that are run by Delta Beverages.

Arts Reporters’ Awards

Delta Beverages sponsors the Arts and Entertainment Reporter of the Year category at the National Journalism and Media Awards.

With a prize money of $4 000 annually, the category encourages arts writers to come up with developmental stories in the beat and a number of journalists have been rewarded for writing arts news.

It has inspired arts and entertainment writers to come up with in-depth articles in the field and promote the arts sector at large.