Langalakhe Mabena
Celebrated artiste Othnell Mangoma Moyo is on a quest to fulfil his childhood dreams at the same time giving up-and-coming artistes a platform to polish their craft, as he has built Ngoma iNgungu Cultural Arts Centre.
The centre is located at Munyawiri Village in Domboshava.
During the 2021 lockdown, Mangoma had a chance to tour the United States of America for four months and he used the money he got during the tour to buy land for building the cultural arts centre.
Since then, he has managed to channel 60 percent of his proceeds towards buying material for building the Ngoma iNgungu which has 10 huts.
He said that the arts centre will be a place where young creatives, up-and-coming and even seasoned ones, will gather and share their cultural and artistic opinions and knowledge.
“As a creative person, growing up in Nguboyenja township, we could create music and dance from home as a family, at a youth centre as a community, and at a cultural centre as artistes from different communities, cities, ethnic groups, and nationalities.
“I moved to the capital Harare in 2010 and I have missed such a space.
“Trying to create music has been a challenge because rehearsal spaces are hired out for about US$5 to US$10 an hour and most artistes can’t afford such rates.
“This has a negative impact on the quality of the work created by the artistes who are also not very well paid and cannot afford to dedicate the required amount of time for projects because of the cost factor.
“Building and opening the Ngoma iNgungu as a space where the creatives can meet up, rehearse, host residences, camps, teach the young generation, host events and exhibit artworks across all genres, means a lot to me as it is a dream come true.
“I envision a space in which mentorship will be provided for the younger and budding artistes. The arts centre will be a space for intergenerational dialogue in which all generations can benefit from learning from each other.
“It will be a space for cultural exchange, which is open for foreign nationals who want to learn the Zimbabwean ancient art forms and also share their own art forms with locals,” said Mangoma.
Through the cultural arts centre, Mangoma said he would be able to fight the scourge of drug abuse and also help create employment among youths.
“There is a growing concern of drug abuse which sits at 57 percent for youth and Covid 19 pandemic came with a growth in unemployment rate.
“The centre will therefore be a vehicle to curb drug abuse and provide skills for young people ranging from performing arts in terms of music, dance, theatre to ancient Zimbabwean musical instruments building and also research and documentation.
“I also envision Ngoma Ingungu as a hive of activity which will not only resuscitate the arts sector but provide quality, well researched and documented Zimbabwean art forms which is a huge gap at the moment,” said Mangoma.
Mangoma was groomed under Amakhosi theatre. He has 31 years of experience in the arts industry.
