MBABANE – The dust has finally settled on the third edition of the Eswatini Art Summit, but the air in the creative corridors of the kingdom remains electric.
For three days, from March 11 to 13 , the Institute of Development and Management (IDM) in Matsapha wasn’t just a venue, it was a confessional, a classroom and a boardroom rolled into one.
Under the theme ‘Creating Opportunities for Artists,’ over 200 of the nation’s finest; artists, actors and event organisers gathered to dissect the state of their ‘creative economy’.
The opening day, dedicated to monetisation of music facilated Vusi Leeuw, President of the South African Music Industry Council, day two focused on events in Eswatini. Day three dedicated to Film production.
The summit’s emotional crescendo occurred on the final day. After years of pleading for financial infrastructure throughout the summit, ENCAC CEO Stanley Dlamini and Eswatini Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund CEO Mandla Nkambule, announced the establishment of a dedicated fund to provide financial muscle to the sector that is yet to be launched.
The takeaway was not just about the money, it was the validation of their dignity. As Hhohho Region MP Tanele Magagula pledged her support for creativity in Parliament and to support the Eswatini Art Summit going forward.
Siphosethu Manana
As a participant in the third edition of Art and Culture Summit, I was disappointed to see the film industry’s concerns not being addressed.
Our concerns are not asking Art and Culture to help actors to go to SA productions, but we want them to help us to build our own platforms, our own local productions. The promises made from the second edition were not kept, leaving many feelings let down. They promise us 10 local films with the help of Paramount, but on the third, they never mention it. All we ask is let’s work towards a more productive dialogue for Eswatini’s creative sector.
Cy Ndukwemnyama
The summit was truly inspiring and eye-opening. My biggest takeaway was the collective energy and shared determination among so many creatives to move from passion to sustainable careers.
The discussions around professionalisation, monetisation and turning creativity into economic opportunities felt timely and necessary, especially in light of His Majesty’s vision for youth employment and economic diversification.
Some pledges made, such as a dedicated creative fund, coupled with promises to create an enabling environment for Eswatini’s artists and musicians and to advocate strongly for the sector in Parliament, gives me real hope.
My hope is that these pledges translate into tangible action: Accessible funding for production and marketing, stronger policy support and genuine partnerships that help local talent thrive both at home and abroad.
As an artist set to carry Eswatini’s flag internationally, I believe this could be a game-changer, allowing more of us to build viable careers, tell our stories authentically and put Eswatini’s rich creative talent on the global map.
I am optimistic and committed to playing my part in making this vision a reality.
Personally this Eswatini Art Summit gave me opportunities, Sinemandla Kwepile the Founder of the Global Creative Summit, who was a speaker, selected me after seeing my performance, to join them as a performing artist in their upcoming Music Market all over the world.
Ceceboy Mkhatshwa
The Art Summit was very impressive since I was just attending for the first time. The guest speakers at the summit had a lot to share, and took a lot of questions from the floor.
The entertainment industry in Eswatini is in a way left out from global economies, not because of lack of knowledge, but it is the delayed passing of innovative policies that play a big role in creating a safe space for the artists. In this modern age, we are still battling with education about copyrights, we still do not have policies protecting artists from exploitation, we still have fewer entertainment law makers who are going to pass laws, guided by regional laws, global laws and technology.
The great leaders made pledges that we hope would shake the rules and regulations pertaining to the entertainment industry and all industries relating to ours. We hope that Parliament head the call from His Majesty King Mswati III, to consider the youth as partners in all the innovative strategies, while we still aim to be a First World country. I believe the CEO always says the youth is the future and always emphasises that the future of country is collaborating with all relating industries, even unrelating industries, as long as we can find common ground and look at every-thing from a different perspective.
(L-R) Siphosethu Manana,Ceceboy and Cy Ndukwemnyama.