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Jul 15 2009

The official opening of The Culture Fund of Zimbabwe premises

The official opening of the Sida sponsored Culture Fund of Zimbabwe’s premises took place on the 1st of July 2009 in Harare. Guests at the event were the Minister for Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, The Swedish Ambassador Sten Rylander, the Mayor of Harare Muchadeyi Masunda and the well acclaimed Zimbabwe musician Oliver Mtukudzi amongst many Zimbabwean cultural practitioners. The Fund is to help revive and support culture and arts in Zimbabwe. The event brought together people from a variety of backgrounds, broadcasting the rich Zimbabwe arts culture through displays of sculptures and performances for their audience.

On the 1st of July 2009 the new office spaces for Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust were officially opened by Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture in Zimbabwe. The Swedish Ambassador, Sten Rylander said in the opening of the event;

“Let me emphasis Ladies and Gentlemen that it gives me great pleasure and pride as an Ambassador of Sweden to watch Zimbabweans taking control of their own destiny through this Fund. It is indeed a Fund for Zimbabweans and managed by Zimbabweans. Zimbabweans have had a very difficult time, a lot of wounds need healing, a lot of fences need mending, it is my hope that this Fund will be able to promote that healing.”

The Culture Fund has been registered as a trust since 2006. Its main purpose is to support the growth and development of the culture sector in Zimbabwe . Its establishment was enabled by Sida’s and stakeholders financial support and thus their desire to “address the inconsistent funding of the Culture sector in Zimbabwe”.

The Culture Fund receives approximately 7 million SEK a year which is to be distributed between the 6 different sub-sectors of art such as film, cultural heritage, fine arts and crafts, cultural industries, literature and languages and performing arts. The funding from Sida will be for the period December 2007 to December 2010. Another one million SEK a year is distributed with the aim to promote Swedish cultural partnerships with Zimbabwe.

The ceremony coincided with the opening of the Domboramwari Arts Village situated on the outskirts of Zimbabwe, a project which was funded within the fine arts and crafts sub-sector of the Culture Fund. Some displays from the exhibition were present at the 1st of July opening ceremony in Harare. These were inspired by the coming 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa, showcasing the many skilled sculptors which Zimbabwe beholds.

This was an important day for the revival of the culture sector in Zimbabwe. Attending the ceremony was poet and performer Albert Nyathi giving the audience an entertaining taste of the affluent Zimbabwean performing arts. Also present at the event were prominent Zimbabwe music icon Oliver Mtukudzi and leading sculptor Dominic Benhura.

The handing over of the anthology Children Writing in Zimbabwe to the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart was also done during the Culture Fund opening day. This book has been published with the support of The Culture Fund of Zimbabwe. It is an anthology which contains 42 written stories by young Zimbabweans from various backgrounds. Senator David Coltart was very grateful for the handing over, emphasising the shortages of school books in schools.

“I take note of the donation of these books. I am grateful. It is saddening when one looks at the situation in terms of availability of books. There is a terrible shortage of textbooks in the country.” said the Minister in gratitude.

For information about the culture fund please visit:
> www.culturefund.org.zw

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