Art and culture is given a platform here, a space to flourish, more than anywhere else in my experience. The official encouragement and support given to the development and integration of art and culture into society is remarkable. It brings a vibrancy that is tangible. I find it exciting.
Artists here are officially recognised and the whole society seems to have a deep appreciation which makes it possible for artists to thrive. This is very different from my own country, Zimbabwe, where there is no special place for artists in the community. Most artists struggle to survive. They are officially regarded, if at all, as part of the tourism sector. Indeed, many are forced to prostitute their art and make curios in order to live. Art itself is simply not respected.
As the Vietnamese author, Duong Thu Huong, wrote: “In any society, artists and writers are the first to feel the need for freedom. It is not without reason that art and literature have three godmothers: Freedom, Luxury, Leisure.’’
The truth of this statement has been clearly demonstrated under the increasingly repressive policies of President Robert Mugabe’s government.
But of course, the artistic soul of a people will always survive. Repression may suffocate it for a while, but like a weed growing in a city pavement, it will find a way into the sunshine.
In Zimbabwe, the musical scene has proved to be particularly vibrant in the past few years. Township jazz musicians have created a running commentary on current developments – inflation, unemployment, government mismanagement and corruption. As a result, of course, government has clamped down on them, forcing many into exile. Much popular music has been banned from the radio and television, over which the government has a monopoly.
In a sadly misguided recognition of the power of music, the government has attempted to use it for propaganda purposes – paying big money to unscrupulous musicians to sing the praises of its disastrous policies. One song encourages invasion of white farmland with the words: “Farming is fantastic, come and take the land”. This is played incessantly on the radio and television – and in fact has been so overdone that most people now hate the song!
One of the events I have particularly enjoyed in Tilburg has been the Paul Bogaert 1000 linosneden exhibition at De Wasserij. This whole project, headed by the energetic Jan Doms, is fascinating. I highly recommend a visit to the exhibition before it closes on December 14th.
I felt my age at a noise-music exhibition near the Pius Harbour – where young people were experimenting with light, sound and electronics. The results were deafening, yet I was fascinated by their creativity and the enabling environment that made such terrible noise possible and explorable!
A real treat was the George Steiner lecture to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Nexus Institute. The aging Steiner was stunning in his eloquence and vitality – and the creative reaches of his mind, which he revealed in his lecture, left me awestruck.
All columns by Wilf Mbanga
| Wilf Mbanga, one of the founders of the independent Zimbabwean daily newspaper "The Daily News", is currently living in Tilburg, the Netherlands. He writes about the differences between Tilburg and Harare. His column is printed weekly in "Het Brabants Dagblad". |
