Murmures

THE Culture Fund of Zimbabwe is inviting artists and culture practitioners to submit their project proposals for funding in the 2015 round. Held under the theme, “Culture Impacts”, this year’s funding seeks to promote works of art that are hinged on free expression, gender equality as well as other rights and freedoms that foster national unity and social cohesion.

Culture Fund project officer, Chido Liberta Mushaya said the proposals are expected to strengthen the broad participation by Zimbabweans in all spheres of society through platforms that foster free expression; advance gender equality among Zimbabweans through arts and culture interactions; to promote, assert and defend human, cultural and socio-economic rights within communities especially among the youth and women.

She said: “In 2015 the Culture Fund’s main grants programme is seeking to foster social cohesion, peace and reduction of poverty among Zimbabwean communities.”

Mushaya said the grant is also meant to provide marginalised groups with a voice to be heard in their communities by empowering them through channelling funds to their projects.

“The funds also sought to empower women and children in the arts and culture sector, since these also make up a significant number of the Zimbabwean population but lacked adequate attention and support in their various activities.”

Project proposals should address at least one of the three development pathways and project conformity to the following expected outcomes will be considered an asset;

“Free expression, which is the increased use of ICT as a social dialogue platform; more people exposed to critical voices on pertinent social issues and increased number of artistic social platforms and networks which provide a voice for the people, especially the marginalised,” she said in a statement.

In the area of gender equality, the project officer said there was need for “enhanced leadership and entrepreneurship skills for women in Arts and Culture; more children exposed to improved arts education for children addressing social-cultural mis-constructs on gender and improved community awareness on practices and norms that reinforce gender inequality and stereotypes”.

This also applies to the area of rights and freedoms where they are calling for project proposals that advocate for improved access to disseminated information on rights issues by Zimbabweans; increased number of artists involved in development issues, including human rights; increased knowledge to use arts and culture as a vehicle for development among upcoming agents (individuals and groups/institutions).

Zimbabwean citizens and permanent residents of Zimbabwe are eligible to submit their project proposals using application forms that can be obtained from the Culture Fund offices 51 Harvey Brown, in Milton Park, Harare, on the website www.culturefund.org.zw or email infoculturefund.co.zw.

Earlier this year Culture Fund director Farai Mfunya highlighted that other organisations are free to source funds on behalf of Zimbabwean artists as the organisation was not created to monopolise arts funding.

“The money we get is obviously not enough to give everyone who requires it. We assess every request and application, then we give what we feel is right.”

He said they disburse funds to different people that apply and these have different projects they work on.

Mufunya said the Culture Fund was a creation of the Zimbabwean arts sector.