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Umkhathi Theatre Works exhibition stand at Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo in Bulawayo

Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
LOCAL arts groups have hailed the just ended Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo as a success as they were exposed to many businesspeople who wanted to partner with them in various projects.

Amagugu International Heritage Centre (AIHC), Intwasa Arts Festival ko Bulawayo, Umkhathi Theatre Works, Siyaya Dance group and Simunye Simunye were among the groups that exhibited for the first time at the annual showcase that ended last Saturday.

Intwasa Arts Festival ko Bulawayo spokesperson Nkululeko Nkala said they had many inquiries from different stakeholders in the tourism industry.

“We had inquiries from people who wanted to find out what the festival was all about. There were some who were interested in partnering us in various aspects of the festival. We shall sit down and seal deals with them soon,” said Nkala.

He said they had realised that they had to do more to market the festival.

“On the broader side, we realised that the festival wasn’t known by some locals. Others were surprised that it existed, so Sanganai/Hlanganani helped us to get ourselves out there. This has the potential to be our very own trade fair as arts and tourism go hand in hand,” said Nkala.

Pathisa Nyathi, the AIHC founder, said they were mostly doing networking and establishing links with players in the tourism sector.

“We met with buyers and people who gave us technical expertise and we’re following up with them. For example ZimTrade, who want to train women on the production of their pottery, wood carving and basketry among other crafts. This is because they’re producing the crafts for their aesthetic value not for functionality. They will be told about how to package them for the local and international markets,” said Nyathi.

He said they had come up with a database of all those who visited their stand.

“Other visitors gave us advice on how to go about our business and get the products to the market. The folks in the rural areas have no links with the market to sell their crafts and Sanganai/Hlanganani afforded us a chance to establish that link. This is what we’re working on with some of the buyers to see how we can extend the catchment area for these rural folks,” said Nyathi.

Umkhathi Theatre Works director Matesu Dube said as this was their first major exhibition, they took the expo as a learning curve.

“The expo exposed us to a wider audience, and many locals said they’ve seen us performing on Ztv and didn’t know how to contact us.

“This was a learning curve to learn what is needed to exhibit and definitely next year we shall be exhibiting as we shall be more prepared,” he said.
Sanganai/Hlanganani Tourism Expo will once again be held in Bulawayo next year.