B-Metro Comment: All set for Bulawayo Arts Awards

The Bulawayo Arts Awards are on this weekend, a culmination of months of preparation on the part of the organisers and artistes alike. 

We are aware that there has been highs and lows in the countdown to the event with different parties making their views known on what should have been done, should be done, or could have been done.  This is a gathering to celebrate artistes, to titillate as well as reward them for sometimes burning the midnight oil to unleash their creative juices. It is therefore no wonder that in the countdown to an event that recognises such balls of creativity there was controversy and different views.

What should be noted though is that none of the voices sought to extinguish the flame that the arts awards has become.  Instead the variegated voices sought to infuse the ceremony with an aura that would distinguish it from any other. 

We take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in the awards ceremony for having brought the awards this far. Just as in the run-up to the event, we expect the chorus of differing voices not to die down instantly after the awards. It is only natural that where there is a contest, there are winners and losers. We expect those that triumph to do so on merit and gracefully wear their garlands while those that perspired only to expire before the hallowed podium should also glean lessons from the experience and use that as motivation to scale new heights in the following year. 

The arts are the ultimate winner, after all is said and done. It is our hope that we keep our eye on the ball and not deviate from the initial vision of the awards — rewarding excellence and promoting the arts and upholding a people’s cultural heritage. 

We believe the unity of purpose exhibited by the arts sector, itself previously blighted by constant murmuring, should permeate other sectors so that we develop the region and be a force to reckon with culturally, politically and economically. 

We believe this is what devolution is all about — taking charge and being the masters of our own destiny. May the awards celebrate that, and more.

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