Bakwena, who is the director of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, has called on the new administration to formulate a clear strategy for revitalising the creative sector. He said the local creative sector has remained stagnant for a long time and the new government needs to hit the ground running by recognising the creative sector as an important cog towards solving the high employment rate besieging the country. “It is very important for a country like ours to define the sector that is arts and culture. With the new government in place, we are hoping for the best in the creative industry. This sector has implications for essential job creation, cultural tourism and further development of the Botswana cultural identity through cultural hubs and heritage sites administered by the Botswana National Museum,” Bakwena told Arts&Culture. “The creative sector should be supported and be encouraged to sustain itself. Batswana have talents that are largely untapped and overlooked. The creatives are simply not helped to find a way to monetise and sustain themselves as small business. The new government should prioritise enabling the sector and its people to organise themselves by developing human resources in areas such as arts administrators, curators, promoters, engineers, designers, research, filmmakers, fashion designers, intangible heritage, monuments, etc,” Bakwena added.
He called on the government to develop technical skills by investing in artists, especially in areas such as craftsmanship in terms of perfecting their skills and creating innovative market opportunities locally and internationally. Furthermore, Bakwena said the government needs to consider building infrastructure such as galleries, theatres, recreational facilities and performance centres. He says there are community centres in villages around the country, which are not utilised. “These could be renovated to suit the community’s area of interest in the arts. The centres could be, for instance, a theatre hall or studios for artists or craft makers or other areas of interest. I think it will reduce the cost as the old buildings will be renovated, not built. This idea could also generate income for the cultural community because the hall could be rented out. The profit could be used to sustain a Community Art Project,” he said. Additionally, he said the new government should also consider training and developing business management skills for artists.
