Preparations for The 5th edition of the Tertiary Institutions Festival of Arts (TIFAZ) annual competitions slated for the 30th of June to the 2nd of July at Mutare Polytechnic are at an advanced stage.
Addressing journalists in the capital, TIFAZ Chairperson, Atanas Ruzive said this year’s festival will be a different as international artists will be taking part.
“All is set for this year’s edition of TIFAZ. We are very excited the Festival has gone international, as we are preparing to host not less than 10 International artists from various countries including Mauritius, India, England, The UAE, Kenya and Ukraine,” said Ruzive.
He added that participants will compete in poetry , drama, traditional dance, mbira, marimba, African Folklores, electric band, drawing, graphic design, photography, culinary arts among others.
In addition, he said, training workshops will be held for lectures and upcoming artists in institutions of higher learning. The workshops will seek to improve the artistic skills of both the lecturers and students ahead of the event to improve the quality of exhibitions and performances.
Ruzive said this year’s edition is shouldering social responsibility by tackling issues of national carnage such as road killings and passenger rights in the drama and poetry segments respectively. He said they have collaborated with the Traffic safety Council of Zimbabwe to bring awareness to people on the importance of road safety.
“The festival will also support our parent Ministry’s (Ministry of Higher and Tertiary, Science and Technology) STEM drive through music, where colleges will battle it out to bring the best rhumba piece on STEM and also in the choral section where a set piece focusing on STEM shall be sung by over 20 choirs.
The organizers of the event have also roped in Zimbabwe’s internationally recognized female sculptor, Charity Bandason who is working with the organizers to nurture talent amongst the young participants.
Internationally recognized female sculptor Charity Bandason
Bandason said it is a great honor to be working with the young talents and felt a great need to be doing something in Zimbabwe as she spends most of her time abroad.
“When I looked around, I felt I have an infinity pregnancy, with the experience I have I feel I should be doing something for my country as many young artists need someone with my knowledge to walk them through this journey,” said Bandason.
Also slated to perform is RnB sensation Trevor Dongo among other local artists from Mutare.
