Issues In Education

D. MOLEFE
O. PANSIRI
SHELDON WEEKS | Tuesday April 20, 2010 00:00

 Their webpages reflect their various activities and aspirations-see: http://www.bsa.org.bw/html/aboutus.html. There you can also link with their glossy magazine Artefacts. It is available as a .pdf. Unfortunately the last issue was in October 2008.The planning process by the BSA for the SoA has been slow and time consuming, involving the work of many people, but particularly the Secretary, Jane Swartland, and the Patron, Dr Gaositwe K.T. Chiepe, former Minister of Education. Government leased a campus in Gaborone, near the Fairgrounds, for the School of the Arts, where it was to be linked with two other projects: a Youth Centre and the proposed National Theatre. The youth centre is now going ahead, but the national theatre is still on hold. All three were planned to complement each other.

The BSA held a design competition for the SoA and the judges' selected Group 9 Architects' submission as the winning concept. It was spearheaded by the late Kagiso Molefhe. People were excited by the way the project was conceived and was to be executed.

A government grant of 10 million pula has gone to translating that concept into detailed designs, the first phase of which is now ready to be built. In addition to Group 9 Architects, BSA's private sector partners so far are Aon Botswana, Limkokwing University and Native Impressions. New partners will include the University of Botswana that has opened a Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA).

In NDP9 and NDP10 resources were there for the construction, but the global meltdown, freezes and budget cuts have delayed development.

The first phase was to include a state-of-the-art theatre seating over 400 people, with a large foyer for exhibitions, a smaller auditorium, a cafeteria and recital rooms, dance and drama studios, recording and photographic studios. But the SoA is now incorporated into a new vision that came on board last year.

In 2009 the European Union provided funding for two consultants to develop a management plan and curriculum blueprint for the SoA, and to identify sources of funding for its construction.

This 'Strategic Plan for Development of the Botswana National Arts Institute' (BNAI) was completed by Jeremy Avis and Ruth Stewart and presented last August. This is now linked to the TEC's Human Resource Development Strategy for Botswana (that had not included provision for the arts up to then). The SoA is now just one part of the BNAI.

As the UN adopted in the 1970s the 'Informal Sector' as a means for spearheading development, now 40 years later the key developmental concept is the 'Creative Economy'.

The BNAI will be closely linked to this through participation in various forms of youth empowerment, employment generation and poverty alleviation in relevant and sustainable ways and through effective private-public partnerships.

Arts education is now recognised worldwide as an important part of social and economic development, and not simply a frill for the local elite and wealthy nations. The BNAI will now include in the first stage 'six resident exemplary arts companies with individual offices, studios and storage spaces.

These semi-autonomous companies founded with a start-up grant from the BNAI will not only perform on the Institute's various stages but will also provide some teaching within the BNAI School and be responsible for BNAI regional touring, outreach and apprenticeship programmes'.

These include a drama company, a contemporary African dance company, an Afro-Jazz music group, a visual arts company, a media arts company (incorporating photography, film making and design), and a technical hire company (sound and lighting). There is tremendous potential here, but as a training facility it will also face the problem of rollover that is experienced elsewhere.

The BNAI vision is 'For artists to be recognised as positive contributors to the development of Botswana' and its mission 'For Botswana to celebrate, value and acknowledge contemporary and traditional arts through the establishment of the Botswana National Arts Institute, which provides training in performing and visual arts to a level of excellence, whilst engaging the wider population through company performances, rural touring and arts related activities.

This will be achieved through a commitment to diversity, creativity and innovation and collaboration with all stakeholders.' Next week Issues will look at the needs assessment and problems of implementation.