One of the most anticipated art festivals in Zimbabwe, the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo is set for next week with international acts set to grace the festival.
The spring fiesta will run from the 24th to the 29th of September at four different venues under the theme ‘Spring Fever’.
The venues of the festival include Bulawayo City Hall car park, Bulawayo Art Gallery, Homestead Conference Centre and the Bulawayo Theatre.
In an interview with CITE, one of the organisers Nkululeko Nkala confirmed that they expect some international acts to add flavour to this year`s addition.
“The festival has international acts from comedians like Trevor Gumbi and Khanyisa Bunu from South Africa,” said Nkala.
The comedians will also share the stage with local acts such as Clive Chigubu and Q Dube on the 27th of September on the program Night of Comedy.
Nkala described the festival as an infectious event.
“The term fever means infectious and we want to be infectious in every good way so that people will enjoy this year’s festival,” he said.
Saturday the 28th of September is a day that is set aside to honour women in the arts sector and the day is termed Women’ s Day with women and children programs lined up.
“We have women and children lined up deliberately because we have more women performers for the first time and children but this does not mean we will not have male acts on the day,” said Nkala.
The Women’s day features performances like 100 girls 100 voices poetry for girls supported by Plan International Zimbabwe and the US Public Affairs.
Skhangele Ngwenya from Young Women Alliance will lead a discussion on the role and place of women’s voices in Zimbabwe amidst the current political and economic challenges among many others acts.
Poetry fans can expect to be enthralled by a fusion of poetry and music with perfomances from Mvelo, Izwi Dewe Sinkende, Lyndah Sonkomose Sibanda, Ntuthuko Mart OkaMabulala Nyathi, Khumalo Kapitol C Sithandekile and Chester.
One of the highlights of the festival is the Bayethe Bulawayo Youth concert, which will feature some of the leading musicians from the region such as Bazooka, Madlela Sikhobokhobo, Khuxman, Asaph, Cal_vin, Ngoma Ingoma, among others.
The concert will be held at the Large City Hall on the last Friday of September.
Nkala added that they host workshops on digital marketing on the 25th September 2019 supported by US public Affairs and the festival also wants to access the role of cultural diversity in a devolved state.
High school drama competitions will also be held during the festival along with art exhibitions from various artists in the region.
