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Misanet.com / IPS, 3 May - Artists from 35 countries have joined Zimbabwean performers in the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) this year. The six-day celebration, which kicked off this week, saw fire works, fire-eaters and fire engines, among some of the spectacles, at the opening ceremony. - HIFA affords us a chance to put our artists on a pedestal and to celebrate the enormously rich creative diversity of our country, said Angeline Kamba, Chairperson of the HIFA Board of Trustees, at the opening ceremony Tuesday. Kamba also acknowledged corporate sponsors - the largest donors are Coca-Cola and Zimbabwean financial conglomerate, ABC Holdings Ltd. - who represent a vital funding source for this year's festival and a crucial partnership for future HIFA sustainability. - A vibrant programme of Zimbabwean and international music, dance, theatre and visual art will pose questions and challenge attitudes - surely arts most noble aim, stated Manuel Bagorro, founder and executive director of HIFA. It's perhaps this clearly stated ambition to challenge people's thinking that initially led the government to ask that political plays be taken out of the programme. Despite the prevalence of political pieces - from 'Witnesses and Victims', a social commentary on the land issue, to 'My Rights, My Freedom', a commentary on the struggle for civil and political rights since independence in 1980 - Bagorro maintains that the criteria for choosing acts was based solely on their artistic value. - HIFA doesn't have a political agenda, stated Bagorro. "It would be strange if at such a time of change in our country, that the arts community didn't respond. The government doesn't perceive the festival as political and that's why it survived." Security, however, remains high on the list of concerns for HIFA organisers, despite police assurances of tight security. "We're living well, providing a rich cultural experience, HIFA also works hard to cultivate skills exchanges between Zimbabwean and international artists." With one foot in the past and one in the future, HIFA provides workshops by traditional Mbira musicians, by stage management, stage-lighting design and sound engineering experts throughout the festival. Future growth strategies for the festival include developing stronger ties with the tourism industry and cultural travel packages that include the event.
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