“Artists are not only indispensable, but also vital, especially now,”

Kate Brown, Germany’s Minister for Culture

On the 6th of April 2020, His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage to set aside Ksh.100 million to cushion local artistes from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In his speech, Kenyatta said that the Ksh.100 million fund would allow artistes, actors and musicians to continue entertaining the public through TV, radio and the internet.

Shortly after, this happened. . .

Kenyans set twitter on fire voicing their revulsion at what they termed as ‘unfair treatment’ and ‘undue favoritism’ towards artists. One Kenyan gentleman wrote:

“You don’t deserve a coin. UK is acting plain stupid”

In hot pursuit (the quickest succession you EVER did see) another comment read:

“Bad decision by the president once again. Instead of helping the poor Kenyans who have lost their jobs and those living in the urban slums who earn less than $1.00 per day they are here giving cash to people who live a better life. There are approximately 2.5 million live slum dwellers the government should have thought about them in the first place?”

Strong sentiments admittedly.

On the flipside, artists nationwide received the news with mixed feelings – joy but skepticism. How would this money be dispersed to reach every single artist without the funds being compromised midway?

The definition of ‘artists’ then quickly became an issue. Who qualified as an artist? Did this definition extend to only those registered with specific collective management organizations and associations? What did President Kenyatta really mean by ‘artists’? Would this definition extend to all types of creatives including Youtubers and fashion models?

And then this happened. . .

Infighting within the creative industry.

Claims of superiority by artists engaged in particular forms of art over others, stories of corruption and unaccounted for audits – a lack of faith in the institutions who would be chosen to distribute this money, all of it.

As if in response, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage held a press conference to discuss the avenues through which these monies would be dispersed via their channel, Kulture TV Ke.

The Ministry hosted a week-long series of discussions on the parameters through which the monies would be distributed to the artists – and thus was born the ‘Work For Pay’ concept stimulus package program for artists, actors & Musicians titled the ‘Together At Home’ campaign.

What that basically meant was that you had to actually submit work to get the package, whatever amount it was.

This Sh100M stimulus package for artistes would run for a period of 3 months i.e from May to July 2020 in which period artists were to create work that was both educational and informative of the pandemic.

The ‘Together at Home’ campaign will be spearheaded by various state agencies under the state department of culture and heritage as follows:

1. The Department of Culture will engage visual artists to develop visual works such as paintings, drawings, photography, crafts, cartoons and comedians.  (Click on this link to learn more http://sportsheritage.go.ke/stimulus-package/visual-arts-comedy/)
2. The Permanent Presidential Music Commission (PPMC) will engage pop musicians, Vj’s, Dj’s, bands and acapella groups and dancers (See link here http://sportsheritage.go.ke/stimulus-package/musicians-dancers/)
3. The National Museums of Kenya will work with visual artists to produce murals and graffiti around the country with an emphasis on vulnerable artist groups. (See link here http://sportsheritage.go.ke/stimulus-package/mural-artworks/)
4. The Kenya Cultural Centre will work with artists whose form of artistic expression includes plays, poetry, spoken word, storytelling, radio theatre, percussions and mime through the social media, radio and television. (See link here http://sportsheritage.go.ke/stimulus-package/theatrical-artists/). Lastly,
5. The Kenya Film Commission which will work with film producers. (See link here http://sportsheritage.go.ke/stimulus-package/film-makers/)

In a press statement by the Principal Secretary for the Ministry, Josephta Mukobe noted that:

1. Creatives across the country are encouraged to submit their applications and interested practitioners can now visit the Ministry’s website i.e. www.sportsheritage.go.ke and fill in the provided application forms for consideration.
2. The criteria is clearly spelt out for each sector.
3. You can track the progress of the respective programs on various digital & social media (‘Kulture-tv’ on all social media platforms e.g. Intagram, Youtube and running with the hashtag #togetherathome #PamojaNyumbani).
4. The Ministry shall endeavor to guarantee participation reach for creatives in all the 47 Counties; echoing closely the words of Ms. Amina Mohammed who ensured that the principles of Transparency, Gender equity, Inclusion; & Representation would guide the process.

So here’s a couple of observations I’ve made:

1. The deadline – obviously. If you’re hoping to apply, please PLEASE do so before 31^st March 2020;
2. Some of these state agencies will require your registration with an association before working with you. For example PPMC will require membership status for any musician or dancer wishing to apply;
3. The applications will be received and reviewed by panels of experts relevant to each field and in line with the application criterion; and lastly,
4. For your application to be accepted, you must use your form of creative expression to create educative messaging around the pandemic, domestic violence and mental health.

While we applaud these efforts and continue to thank our government for rolling out this initiative in close similarity with governments like Germany and Canada who also offered stimulus packages to their artist populations, we hope that the requirement for registration with the various state agencies (or their affiliates) as a criterion shan’t prove a hindrance to the execution of the project. I say this because HEVA Fund recently released a survey on the creative sector’s needs during the pandemic titled ‘Covid-19 Resilience’ which noted that 60% of creatives are not registered to any of these institutions.

So if you are a creative, and you can, do apply. Remember, it is our duty to reflect the times. I didn’t say it, Nina Simone did.

Stay safe, keep creating and keep taking care of yourself and your loved ones. We’ll get through this together.

Yours,

Immaculate

Sources:

1. The Ministry of Sports, Culture & Heritage’s website www.sportsheritage.go.ke
2. Heva Funds ‘COVID-19 Resilience: Creative Industry Options and Strategies’ available at  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/523219f5e4b0d03caffa89f3/t/5eb12e72566d6b5e37294431/1588670077778/HEVA+Fund_Covid-19+Resilience_Strategy_2020_2.pdf
3. https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/51830-kenyan-artists-react-uhurus-plan-give-them-ksh5k-each