The Making of Zimbabwe’s Biggest Arts Night : The Long Road to NAMA

By Patience Musa

As Zimbabwe edges closer to Saturday night at the Harare International Conference Centre,
the air around the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) feels charged — not only with
anticipation, but with consequence.
For some, it is a night of fashion and flashbulbs. For others, it is the culmination of years
spent in rehearsal rooms, editing suites, studios and dimly lit stages. For the National Arts
Council of Zimbabwe, it is something heavier.
Napoleon Nyani, director of the Council, in a recent interview. “This is the premier
achievement for artists. Even being a nominee opens doors internationally.”
Behind the applause lies a process far less visible and far more exacting than many imagine.
Once the curtains fall on one edition of NAMA, reflection begins almost immediately. A
month is spent reviewing what worked and what did not. By March, a new adjudication cycle
quietly takes shape. Recommendations for adjudicators arrive from provincial arts managers
across all 10 provinces, from national office executives, from the NACZ board, and even
from those who have judged before.
Integrity is the first filter.
“We look for people who are consistent, who are role models, who can be dispassionate,”
Nyani explained.
Yet art, by its nature, resists detachment. It is born of emotion. It is sharpened by experience.
Those most qualified to judge it are often practitioners themselves — past or present — and
therefore deeply invested in the spaces they are asked to assess. Balancing expertise with
objectivity is one of the adjudicators most delicate tasks.
In the end, 28 adjudicators are appointed. They enter deliberations bound by strict non-
disclosure agreements. No recordings. No note-taking. No leakage from behind closed doors.
The National Arts Council staff, including its director, sit in the room only as secretariat — to
document procedure, to ensure compliance, but not to influence outcomes.
“We have no say in who wins,” Nyani said plainly.
If the scale of responsibility feels abstract, the numbers are not.
For the 24th edition of NAMA, more than 700 submissions were received in the film
category alone. Short films. Feature-length productions. Television series. Web series. Seven
hundred distinct visions, each crafted with intention.

Three adjudicators are tasked with watching and scoring every single one within a matter of
weeks. Their top selections are then presented to the full panel of 28, defended, debated and
narrowed down. Nominees are not casually chosen; they are argued into existence.
Even the People’s Choice Award, often the most emotionally charged category, follows a
defined path. In January, the public was given three weeks to nominate any artist of their
choosing. From those submissions, the top five emerged. Voting is now live on
gatewaysstream.co.za, with each individual permitted a single vote.
The passion surrounding this category is unsurprising. When the public is invited to choose,
ownership deepens. But Nyani insists the framework is straightforward: nomination by the
people, decision by the people.
Beyond the spectacle, the Council’s ambitions stretch further than a single evening.
“We forget that on a daily basis we need art,” Nyani reflected. “We need music. We need
beautiful living spaces. That’s all art.”
In that reminder lies a broader campaign. The NACZ has been lobbying the Ministry of
Finance, presenting proposals that position the arts not as ornamental, but as economic.
Recent national budget statements have begun to reference the sector — developments Nyani
attributes to sustained advocacy and the presentation of tangible return-on-investment
arguments.
At the same time, the Council is prioritising arts education and awareness. The aim is to
strengthen heritage-based learning in schools and to shift public perception — particularly
among parents — that creative disciplines are secondary to so-called core subjects. Art, in
this vision, is not extracurricular. It is foundational.
Clarity is also needed within the sector itself. The NACZ, Nyani emphasised, is often
confused with the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA). The distinction matters.
The National Arts Council regulates and develops the broader arts ecosystem — overseeing
policy, strategy and flagship initiatives like NAMA. ZIMURA, by contrast, manages music
rights, collecting and distributing royalties and safeguarding musicians’ copyright.
Different mandates. Different doors to knock on.
As Saturday approaches, the envelopes are sealed, the stage prepared, the nominees waiting.
For some, the night will bring validation. For others, disappointment. But beyond the
winners’ list lies something more enduring: a sector insisting on its worth, arguing for its
place in national policy, and refining the systems that determine recognition.
At HICC this weekend, trophies will be lifted.
Behind them stand months of scrutiny, hundreds of hours of viewing and listening, and a
quiet, ongoing effort to ensure that Zimbabwe’s creative voices are not only celebrated — but
sustained.