ABSTRACT
The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is arguably the most important sub-Saharan festival of the arts in Africa. It was conceived by white Zimbabweans in 1999 and has grown from strength to strength ever since, despite the political changes and upheavals in the country. It is continually a subject of discussions in the press and the subject of accusations by government politicians regarding the role of the festival in the life of the country. In February 2014, it was reported that “Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Tabeth KanengoniMalinga torched a storm last week with her remarks towards the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), which she argued was not entirely indigenous and did not help local artistes significantly” (Murimbechi, J. 2014). In November 2015 it was announced that HIFA will not be taking place in 2016 due to the severe lack of funding. This is a huge blow to the artistic community in Zimbabwe as there is still nothing at all which would even remotely be in the same league as that festival. The visits of the international artists and the general standard of the festival has been next to none in sub-Saharan Africa and it has significantly impacted the artistic community in Harare at least, widening their horizons.
