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Showbiz Reporter

THE National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) have come and gone with some happy with the winners and as usual, some disgruntled. 

Those who selected the winners, the Nama adjudicators, on their part, have commended artistes for the quality of their work which they said is improving each year despite hardships they are facing. 

Addressing guests at the awards ceremony in Harare this past weekend, the chairperson of the adjudicator’s panel, Ruby Magosvongwe, said: “It’s quite pleasing that the quality of entries is improving each year despite the prevailing economic environment. Artistes are investing in their creations that are being sold locally and internationally.”

The adjudicator also hailed artistes for their originality and innovation.

“There was remarkable improvement in quality of films submitted. It was also noted that generally, artistes are embracing new technologies, a development that was measured through the number of entries that were submitted online,” Prof Magosvongwe said.

With each edition of the Namas, however, some people have been left disgruntled suggesting that some artistes deserved the award over the chosen winner. Magosvongwe clarified this saying people needed to know that the Namas are not a popularity contest as judges adjudge works that will have been submitted and look at their quality.

“Let me emphasise that Nama adjudicators deal with works that are submitted for consideration. There’s nowhere we would expect objective assessment of work not submitted but perceived by some to be doing well. 

“Let me stress that Nama, being a platform where the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe recognises outstanding achievements within the creative sector, does not measure popularity of the submitted works. Instead, the awards recognise talent, creativity, originality, innovation and excellence making Zimbabwe a force to reckon with on the international arena. 

“It is paramount for the audience, viewers and stakeholders to note that the adjudicators assessed the quality of submitted works using a set criteria and the decision of the judges is purely based on the quality of the product presented to the panel.”

In the Music category, Magosvongwe said seasoned artistes were upstaged by unexpected names as there were a lot of entries from up-and-coming artistes who are producing singles and pushing the competitiveness in the sector. 

However, the adjudicator raised concerns pertaining to presentations of some entries. 

“For instance, some photographs of sculptors were not clear with obstructions on their backgrounds. In the Film and Television category, formatting and labelling of entries was not well done.

“Under performing arts, especially Theatre and Dance, a number of productions were not well packaged and thus denied adjudicators a fair assessment of the entries,” the chairperson said. 

For next year’s Nama edition, Magosvongwe suggested that artistes and production houses desist from rushing to submit their works on the deadline day as they risk missing submitting critical information and materials to support their entries.