Festival Institute said Wednesday that female creatives have all the potential to excel in their different art forms and contribute massively to the development of the country if given more space and opportunities.
The organisation’s director Tammy Mbendera said this as 25 young creatives are undergoing the Girl Powered (GRL PWRD) Creative Training for Girls in technical production at Kweza Arts in Lilongwe and Festival Institute in Mchinji which ends tomorrow.
Festival Institute is running the training programme in partnership with Kayesa Creative Centre, Kweza, Kusewera and Cinefilm Academy.
The training programme is aimed at empowering female artists and producers and that not only addresses the gender disparity in the music industry, but also provides entry level music and video production training to foster creativity and autonomy among participants.
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“The girls I have met during this training, like many I have met in the creative sector, are determined to shine. They not only have the self-belief to add to their natural talents, they also have the passion and are desperately looking for more spaces like this one,” Mbendera said.
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She said beyond this, the female creatives have taken the responsibility upon themselves to use what they have learned to uplift other girls.
“It is very evident to me now, more than ever, that the future is girl-powered,” Mbendera said.
During the training, the female creatives also went through concept development facilitated by Professor Natasha Gordon Chipembere, who shared on the topics of womanhood and representation of black women in creative industries.
The female creatives, alongside another facilitator Costa Rica-based jazz musician Masauko Chipembere, also joined a workshop at the ninth edition of Tumaini Festival held last weekend at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa.
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“It was interesting to discuss the common challenges we face as creative organisations across the global creative networks. A lot of the organisations we met are keen to partner and support our cause,” Mbendera said.
Chipembere said Girl Powered was all about creating more space for women in roles that require technical skills within the music industry in Malawi.
“As things stand, only around three percent of people in the music industry are women and most of them sing. Where are the sound engineers, music producers, beat makers, managers? There has been no space for them in a male-dominated industry,” he said.
Chipembere said his mother Catherine Chipembere has always been a great singer.
“I got into music because she always sang in my house,” he said.
Apart from Chipembere, some of the trainers of the programme are poet Q Malewezi, Yolanda Sangweni and KIM of Diamonds.
