BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – National Arts and Culture Awards (NACA) entry process opens next week.
The Awards are set to launch their entry criteria and process, opening up the competition to all amateur and professional artists across the country.
Forms will be available at all Tinkhundla centres and online next Wednesday, (July 24, 2024) allowing artists to enter a category of their choice or even create a new one. All entries are free.
This was confirmed by Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) CEO Stanley Dlamini today (Thursday, July 17, 2024).
Dlamini shared with this publication that the NACA wants to encourage all artists to participate, regardless of genre or style. He said, “Culture is constantly evolving, and we don’t want to limit the creativity of our artists. We want to capture every aspect of our nation’s artistic expression.”
According to Dlamini, entries are free, and they encourage both amateur and professional artists to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase their talent. The process begins at the Tinkhundla level before moving on to the Regional Awards and the National Awards.
Dlamini went on to say, “We are working hard to make sure that we don’t miss any genre or style of music or creative art form. We want to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to participate; hence, we believe in mass participation stages for our people through the nominations process and voting, which will enhance audience development and mass participation.”
As the entry process opens next week, artists are urged to collect their forms from their nearest Tinkhundla Centre or online platforms.
Dlamini concluded by saying that more details on the awards will be shared in due course, including the categories, judging criteria, and timeline for the regional and national awards.
