From publishing content online, navigating NFTs and media to leveraging their unique African perspective in the creative industry, content creators from Bulawayo and Harare gathered to get practical insight about monetizing, distribution and online publishing at Baseline Academia Bulawayo Edition.
If local creatives want to stay relevant in this increasingly digital world, they need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to do so and that’s what this micro-conference was all about.
About Baseline Academia Bulawayo Edition
Baseline Academia (Bulawayo Edition) is a next level micro-conference for creatives, where veteran content creators discuss marketing, distributing and making money from your content online. Baseline is the second micro-conference under Scripts and Bars.
Delivered by Kay Media Africa and UK-based Reprezent (UK), Scripts and Bars is a digital content creation programme that brings together 100 creatives from Zimbabwe and UK to deliver collaborative artwork across the Music and Literature sectors. The project is supported by the British Council Cultural Economy programme, which supports cultural organisations, festivals, artists, and creatives between the countries of SSA and the UK to create art, build networks, collaborate and develop markets and share artists’ work with audiences, in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The project seeks to enhance the digital content creation capacity and enterprise skills of creatives and arts organisations in Zimbabwe whilst strengthening their livelihoods, supporting job creation and increasing their access to networks.
What Went Down
Held on Saturday, 16 July at the Rock Church in Bulawayo, Baseline Academia Bulawayo Edition was all about aiding local creatives, in both Harare and Bulawayo, to enhance their digital content creation.
Talks were given by digital content creation veterans ranging from filmmakers and animators to comic book creators and musicians and covered topics as varied as NFTs and media, shaping the African narrative through animation and comic books to insights and tips for African female creatives and music distribution and PR.
Attendees also got the opportunity to listen in on a panel discussion by the four Interstellar residency participants who converged in Bulawayo to collaborate on a project combining music, poetry and digital art.
The participants gave a glimpse of the cross cultural collaboration that took place and how the magic was made.
A highlight of the event was a performance of the final piece titled “Umuntu Ngabantu” which was produced by music producer and mixing engineer, Patrick Denny and performed by musician, Novuyo alongside Margaret Chideme. The song was also accompanied by artwork created by digital artist, Tafadzwa Shumba
The conference was both inspirational and equipping and based on the responses of several attendees, much needed. A number of creatives confidently expressed they will be going on to implement much of what they learned during the conference.
About Comexposed
Comexposed is the organisation behind the Zimbabwean Digital Arts, Technology and Innovation Convention, Converge.
Comexposed is the collective effort of digital artists and creators in Zimbabwe showcasing their work, progress, and dreams and aims to bring together Zimbabwean digital creators under one banner to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing and growth in skills. To this end, Comexposed has built a community of digital creators breaking the boundaries in Zimbabwe, Africa and the World.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. British Council build’s connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.
About Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is the agency for international cooperation of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
The SDC is responsible for the overall coordination with other federal authorities of development and cooperation with Eastern Europe as well as for humanitarian aid delivered by the Swiss Confederation.
About Khura Agency
Khura Agency is an A2B AGENCY – ARTIST TO BUSINESS agency helping artists do business creatively &efficiently. Khura provides the final connection with their audience, the smarter approach in the creative hustle.
About Reprezent
Broadcasting since 2011, and now from 3 shipping containers in Brixton, Reprezent Radio prides itself on its forward-thinking underground music. Reprezent’s DJ’s and presenters all work in the music industry; produce their own music, run their own labels and club nights- meaning the station’s sound is always on the cutting edge of music- across every single genre imaginable.
About Page Poetry Alive
Page Poetry Alive (PPA) is a poetry collective that nurtures storytellers from page poets to Spoken Word artists with a focus on Youth Development and explorative work.
Founded in March 2017, PPA has become a hub for the growth of brands within the arts and culture sectors. It started as a hub serving a community of creatives from in and around Harare, but it has now spread to areas outside Zimbabwe and beyond: working with artists from Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, UK, Barbados, Malawi, USA, Mauritius and Zambia. The main aim being to practice art coexistence and encourage experimental work while facilitating exchange across art forms.