Book Café, Mannenberg closure is a blow to the creative industries in Zimbabwe

Arterial Network
January 04, 2012

Arterial Network Zimbabwe learnt with profound sadness the imminent closure in its current location of the Book Cafe and Mannenberg, one of the most vibrant arts centres in Zimbabwe. 

Book Cafe and Mannenberg will close its doors at Fife Avenue Mall in Harare after 15 years. The building owners, retail giant OK Zimbabwe and its agent, Old Mutual, one of Africa’s largest property, finance and insurance conglomerates whose parent company is in South Africa, advised that the owners will occupy the premises from 2012. “Owner occupation” is often the only means by which a lease can be technically cancelled in this way under Zimbabwe law. 

The Book Cafe and Mannenberg have epitomised good practice in arts entrepreneurship within a development framework, demonstrated by their impressive milestones: in 15 years the venues achieved: 7,500 concerts and events (mainly music and poetry), 650 public discussions, 90 book launches, 35 theatre productions and staging of 250 international touring acts. 600,000 audience entered the twin venues since opening, as Book Cafe in 1997 (with Luck Street Blues), and Mannenberg in 2000 (with historic performances by jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim). About 350 artists earned a livelihood at the venues in 2011 alone. 1200 artists participated annually in development programmes. 950 events were staged annually since 2008, and prior to 2008 about 600 events.

The majority of the younger of musicians and poets to emerge in the last 15 years started their careers at Book Cafe and number in hundreds, including some world famous names. The venues gave rise to the urban mbira phenomena in Harare’s nightlife, pioneered stand-up comedy, championed freedom of expression, laid the foundation for slam poetry, nurtured jazz development and a reggae renaissance, and created major youth and female arts development programmes.

Book Cafe has been Harare’s artists’ hub and meeting place; and every day would see groups of film makers, poets, musicians, writers, journalists and arts practitioners meeting informally and formally. Many ask: why have Book Cafe and Mannenberg been forced to close against this background? 

A public outcry has ensued over the closure with artists, audiences, civil society, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the Mayor of Harare and the Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture expressing their disappointment. Even the state media, normally at loggerheads with Book Cafe’s role in human rights and freedom of expression, has been nominally sympathetic. Artists have set up an impromptu ‘Save the Book Cafe’ campaign, calling for an “artists’ boycott” of the OK Zimbabwe chain of 52 large supermarkets and approaching Old Mutual head office in South Africa. 

What lies behind these extraordinary events is, sadly, a saga of corporate indifference towards the creative sector. Simply, it doesn’t matter that 350 artists lose livelihood (in a country with 85% unemployment), or that 1200 artists lose their support system, their route to careers in the arts. It doesn’t matter that this is ruinous for Zimbabwe’s “intangible” cultural assets: nurturing art forms and emerging artists, a culture of freedom of expression and the building of arts audiences. 

What matters is that companies with assets measured in hundreds of millions if not billions of US dollars, squeeze ever higher profits from investments; and this in a country in ‘recovery’ from economic catastrophe, where the currency collapsed amidst world record hyper-inflation. Book Cafe reported that its rents had increased 500-700% (in US dollars) since the 2008 economic collapse. 

In many parts of the world, including South Africa and Kenya there is some measure of business support for the arts, expressed as corporate social responsibility, branding, visibility, or investment. In Zimbabwe, much of the corporate world seems not to comprehend the global phenomenon of ‘creative economy’ and the immense economic benefits and ‘intangible’ cultural assets that accrue. 

It is a painful reality that creative sector growth in Africa is being undermined by pitifully low investment in new cultural infrastructure by the state (arts centres such as Book Cafe, libraries, festival facilities, theatres, galleries, training centres, production facilities, incentives towards cultural production and trade). Africa lacks sufficient cultural infrastructure to take advantage of its immense cultural wealth and world-class innovation in the arts. With rare exceptions of visionary philanthropy, African big business turns a blind eye or simply extracts profits from the arts. 

This leaves small scale enterprises, artists and NGOs – themselves hard pressed and often working in conditions of poverty - to take up the challenge and responsibility of building national cultural infrastructure. In Zimbabwe, this is accompanied by an insidious threat to freedom of expression.

In many instances, development funding - seeking “results” - will not invest in infrastructure (or sometimes even the institutional costs) that actually sustains cultural production and development, preferring to look solely at one-off and ad hoc programming, staging and project output. 

Where then is substantive creative sector infra-structure development that can be sustained going to arise? The importance of Book Cafe model was that it could not only sustain itself economically, and create 350 jobs, but (as a strategic decision of its trustees) multiply the effects of development funding about threefold. At Book Cafe the hybrid model functioned such that institutional costs were carried by venue operations so that grant funding could be applied fully to artist development. 

Globally, since 1986, there has been a transformation in the perception of the role of culture in the economic and social realm. The link between culture and economic development is receiving recognition. Culture is seen increasingly as both a means to create and sustain economic progress, as well as contribute to social life and value systems. It can also generate added revenues through cross-cutting sectors like tourism, festivals, multi-media and crafts and contribute to sustainable development. The impact of culture on the economic development might be summarized as:

• Community cultural assets are ideally suited to support sustainable local development, creating jobs and opportunities with little capital investment, as well as revitalization of depressed areas
• Culture offers enhanced opportunities for women and youth (both marginalised) to participate in productive activities contributing to gender equality, self esteem and social awareness
• Culturally sensitive policies preserve fragile traditional practices in a globalised entertainment frenzy and address the needs of socially disadvantaged groups and indigenous peoples
• Cultural industries are typically made up of small or family businesses that are well-suited for locally based development and maximum job creation

It is painful to see a successful arts model in Africa being forced to close by big business interests. It is our expectation that stakeholders, artists, partners and audiences of Book Cafe will find common cause in difficult circumstances, so that Book Cafe will quickly re-emerge with the least disruption and costs. We at Arterial Network stand in solidarity and will lend as much support as is possible in our mission and resources and continue to fight for the advancement of the creative sector in Africa.