The Harare International Festival of the Arts was established in 1999 by Manuel Bagorro, a former concert pianist who has served as the festival’s artistic director and a member of its Executive Board since the inception of HIFA. Over the years, HIFA has become the largest cultural event in Zimbabwe and one of Africa’s major arts festivals, which is impressive for a country that has a long history of financial instability and civil unrest.
Bagorro grew up in Harare, “a place where the arts are such a struggle to acquire and explore” (according to his own words), so he wanted to satisfy the people’s needs and desire for them. HIFA is a week-long event that showcases music from multiple genres, dance, theatre, circus, poetry, street performance (busking), fashion and visual arts. The festival program features an impressive selection of events from concerts to fashion shows to street performances, held throughout Zimbabwe’s capital.
The Harare International Festival of the Arts isn’t important just because of its contribution to the development of Zimbabwe’s cultural and arts scene. What is even more significant is that it has become a symbol of all the positive things about Zimbabwe. It helps to unite the socially and culturally disparate groups of Zimbabweans in times of ideological conflict and political uncertainty, reminding them that the arts are a source of creative power that can bring positive change.
First and foremost, HIFA is a platform for local artists who have very few opportunities to express themselves. But it also welcomes artists from different countries including the Netherlands, Finland, South Africa, the United States, Israel, Cape Verde, Portugal, and more, helping to build a cultural bridge between Zimbabwe and the rest of the world.
HIFA is a private endeavor that is not supported by the state and depends on funding from various private sources, including multinational corporations, local businesses, donors, and embassy missions that support artists from their respective countries. Organizing a festival of such as size in Zimbabwe is not an easy task due to the country’s economic and political instability, and the hard work and dedication of its organizers are truly admirable.
Photo: hifa.co.zw
