WORKSHOPS



In 2012, the FLAME Workshops continued with outreach workshops Chimananimani Arts Festival, Murewa Uzumba Marambapfungwe Arts Festival and Midlands Festival of the Arts(Gweru).  All these workshops were covered under the CulutreFund of Zimbabwe Grant awarded to FLAME in 2011.

10     Aug 2012

• FLAME partnered with Chimanimani Arts Festival to host a Workshop for Women Artists by Women Artists on the 10^th of Aug.  13 Women Artists from Chimanimani took part in this workshop that covered topics like HIV/AIDS & the artist, Image & Stagecraft, Cherry Factor, Dealing with audiences, casts & crews.  This was the second in a series of 4 workshops in different provinces of the country
  

28 Sept 2012

A third in a series of 4 workshops was held in partnership with Midlands State University, National Arts Council Gweru & Midlands Arts & Cultural Festival.  30 participants where drawn from Shurugwi, Kwekwe, Gweru and the university.  The Sistaz Open Workshop is designed to empower women artists covering topics such as HIV/AIDS & the artist, Image & Stagecraft, Cherry Factor, Dealing with audiences, casts & crews



25 Oct 2012

• The fourth & last FLAME provincial workshop was held in Murewa on the 25^th of October in partnership with NAC & Murehwa Uzumba Marambapfugwe Cultural Festival (MUCUF).   .  Over 34 women artists coming from as far as Marondera, Macheke, Mtoko and the surrounding areas of Murewa drawn from visual, dance, music, sculpture and among them prison inmates from Murewa Prison met for the first time in a workshop like this to share and learn with women artists from Harare, Tariro Ruzvidzo & Theresa Muchemwa who were facilitators for the workshop.
• http://www.flameproject.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html

7 Dec 2012

·         A ‘Hip Hop & Freedom of Expression’ roundtable workshop was attended by 22 participants.  Facilitated by Akua Naru(USA) she shared the US experience of how hip-hop grew from the inner-cities because of the prevalence of poverty, drug abuse & crime as a way of expressing this situation and trying to redress it: that it rose from the people who were taken as slaves from Africa through to the Civil Rights Movement and now to the Spoken Word Movement. 

·        According to Akua hip-hop is more than a music genre, it’s a movement that “ghetto” youths employed to revolt against injustices that surrounded them.  Hip-hop has been distorted over the years and become too commercial making it less conscious and speaking less of the people’s struggle but more of ‘bling’, drugs, gangster praise etc said Akua.

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Along with performance and promotional opportunities, FLAME runs a series of Workshops for established and emerging women artists, collectively entitled “Workshops For Women Artists By Women Artists", in which experienced professional women artists tackle key issues in the industry with emerging women artists.  Topics usually include Stagecraft, Professionalism/Discipline, Roles in the Band, Understanding the PA System, Copyright issues, Publicity and the Internet, and open discussion on HIV/Aids focussing on the social responsibility of the song-writer or performer.

On the 4th & 5th, of April, 2011 FLAME hosted the Creative Enterprise Course that covered Intellectual Property Rights and Marketing.  Creative Enterprise Course was put together by the Culture Fund & British Council aimed at building the capacity of the Arts and Cultural Sector Practitioners so as to contribute to the growth and development of the culture sector in Zimbabwe and FLAME is honored to be able to extend the course to more women artists. 

^Some of the Creative Enterprise Course Participants with Facilitator Dudu Manhenga
The eight module course covers Branding, Negotiating & Networking, Marketing, Finance Management among others stressing on the creatives (artists) to take themselves seriously and treat themselves as businesses.

2011 has been a good year in that F.L.A.M.E received a grant from the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe to carry out workshops in four provinces in Zimbabwe.  The first workshop was held in Bulawayo in partnership with Intwasa Arts Festival.

Three of the remaining workshops will continue in 2012, provisionally in Murewa, Masvingo and Mutare.  FLAME is grateful for this opportunity to empower women artists in Zimbabwe.