Tafara Chibanda
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) has announced several changes to the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) for the upcoming 23rd edition.
Speaking during a press conference, the NACZ director Napoleon Nyanhi said:
“The country’s annual awards recognizing outstanding achievements in arts and culture will see updates to the adjudication process and award categories to enhance efficiency, transparency, and fairness.
“As part of our commitment to excellence, NACZ is currently working on a revamped website that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our mandate,” Nyanhi said.
The new website is set to launch on September 1, 2024, offering exciting features to benefit the arts sector.
Nyanhi emphasized that the changes to NAMA are a result of a nationwide consultation process conducted by the NACZ Board of Directors in 2022, where they sought feedback from the arts sector on the effectiveness of the awards.
“This process culminated in two stakeholder meetings held in Bulawayo and Harare to specifically interrogate the NAMA categories and awarding process.
“A lot of valuable feedback was obtained, and today we present the changes that have been made to the awards as a result of these consultations,” he said.
Among the key changes are the additions of seven new awards as well as the renaming of some existing awards to upcoming ones instead of new.
Nyanhi explained that the new label was deemed misleading, as some artists may have been producing work for years before gaining recognition, prompting the change to Outstanding Upcoming in the Visual Arts and Music Awards categories.
He also announced the addition of the Outstanding Music Group which was previously a missing element in the Music Awards category, stating that this change aims to provide recognition for music groups like choirs and duos who were previously overlooked.
“Media awards are now under the special awards, this award was perceived to be more of an honorary accolade rather than competitive because of the nature of creativity.
Nyanhi said, those who are involved in promoting art be it promoters and bloggers who push art must also be recognised.
He also said, the submission process has also been updated, with CDs and DVDs no longer accepted due to technological advancements, and memory sticks or links being the preferred format.
“The NAMA 2024 edition will consider works of art produced from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024, and the submission period is now open,” said Nyanhi.
Nyanhi said, it is important to note that, the NACZ cannot award every single art from the country but the top most generally recognised roles are picked for each category and they become representative of the art genre.
Nyanhi encouraged Zimbabwean nationals or those with resident status to apply, either online or by visiting the NACZ offices.
Nyanhi also thanked Jacaranda Culture Media Corporation for their work as the event manager for the awards ceremony, noting that the upcoming edition will be their last, as NACZ begins the process of finding a new event manager.