Monday, June 29, 2020

COVID-19 HITS BOTSWANA'S CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Hello there. Welcome back😊Today we are discussing how Covid-19 has affected our brothers and sisters in the creative sector. 

The Creative Industry in the Covid-19 season

By: Priscilla Malete

Covid-19 has affected almost if not everyone across the globe but has arguably caused caused more dent on the creative sector across the universe. Contrary to other industries that are able to almost carry on with their normal operations during this pandemic, its rather an absolute fantasy and a wishful thinking for the creative industry. This is primarily because of its nature of operation.

A lot of the times, this sector is synonymous with pulling the crowds to showcase their talents and entertain people at music events, comedy shows, film festivals, theatre live performances, fashion shows,  art exhibitions, you name it. Physical presence and interaction at these events will always have have that irreplaceable and distinct trait to it. It's about the ambience, it's  the subliminal effect that can never be replaced by any kind of virtual set-up. Most crucial, their income comes from bookings to physically attend these live events and performances. In light of all these,  one can only imagine how hard it is for them to survive this Covid storm that comes with strict regulations and precautions! Their events have been put on pause until the government decides otherwise while closely monitoring the Covid 19 situation.

In the same breath, the thought that they can still produce content in their homes cannot be completely shunned, but it is worth noting that not all of them have all the necessary resources to create and distribute their content. Some of them are still budding creatives who are still building their way to the top.

Another disturbing issue, is that of content distribution for the few privilleged that are able to work from their homes during the pandemic. We live in a digital age yes, which makes it easier to distribute content so that it reaches a wide audience. However, not all people who consume the creative content have access to the digital technology of which they could use to consume the content. A complete 'catch-22' scenario. Even the creatives themselves, are not all familiar with the use of digital forms of creating and distributing content. The point here, is that, advanced innovation & technology doesn't provide a holistic solution to the problem, it sidelines a certain group of people.

Someone might look at the flip side of the coin and say, hang on: lets embrace the technology, its only a matter of time until everyone is conversant with technology! The question then becomes, to what extent do we embrace this technology? Well, its a totally new debate on its own that i would possibly engage you on for one of my posts to come.

Recently, a large number of Botswana's creative artists have been crying out for help from the government. A close example is Botswana's famous &  talented artist, Atlasaone Molemogi prevalently known as 'ATI'. He has been in the forefront of what one could term the "Help creatives, we are dying of hunger" campaign that saw different creatives across social media join in the seemingly loudest cry for help. We have seen the likes of LaTimmy, DramaBoi, Vee Mampeezy etc stand in support of the 'campaign'. Its very clear that Batswana have as well, been very supportive of the creatives' voices online. We have seen posts and comments pouring out in support of ATI. To put the final nail on the coffin, we saw Vee Mampeezy's Facebook post talking for the benefit of his associates in the innovative business!
(Screenshot of Vee's Facebook post)
It would be interesting to hear y'all's views. Pease drop your comments🙏
#BWCREATIVES🇧🇼


Saturday, June 27, 2020

CREATIVE INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION

Hello friends😊Welcome back home. As promised, today I’ll be unpacking some issues around the role of the creative industry on economic diversity.

For so many years, mining and agriculture have been the most pivotal sectors in terms of contribution to the Botswana’s GDP. However, the government has on several occasions, identified the creative industry as another potential sector that could help boost our economy through innovation, job creation and trade.

Botswana's Creative Industry's Contribution To Economic Diversification

By:Priscilla Malete

As a set of knowledge-based activities, focused on but not limited to arts, this industry generates income from trade and intellectual property rights.  Intellectual property is fundamentally about the creations of minds such as inventions which include literary and artistic works used in commerce. Now, this is where intellectual property rights come handy. They are meant to protect individuals' intellectual services or creative content that meets the market objectives and has economic value.

For more information about intellectual property, watch this video👇


      (YouTube video by docstocTV )

The growing digital connectivity has led to creatives expressing their ideas in new forms as well as distributing their creative content. The introduction of gadgets such as smartphones, computers etc has opened new opportunities for people in the creative industry to exploit their intellectual property. For example, paintings, music videos and short films are now distributed online. This makes sense because we are living in the digital age where people use smart phones to access intellectual services by creatives. In Botswana, we have artists like Vee Mampeezy, ATI, Ice Cold Mob, HanC, Culture Spears, Amantle Brown etc who have used the social media platform to market and sell their music. This form of content distribution is even more popular in the field of comedy and it has opened doors full of opportunities for Batswana comedians such as Mjamaica, Peneneponono, Motsetserepa, amongst many. These comedians are now big brands which are now internationally recognised. Big companies like Mascom and Orange at times make use of their services for advertising.

Remember to stay tuned again for the next post and Please🙏Please drop your comments🙏❤Sharp-sharp!😊

Monday, June 22, 2020

UNDERSTANDING CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Creative Industry Defined

By Priscilla Malete

QuoteFancy
What pops in your mind when you hear of "Creative Industry"? Is it paintings, music or film? Well, you are on the right platform to get yourself acquainted with what the creative industry is  really about.


One of my interviewees thinks👇
"For a lay person, I think what comes to mind  is the arts mostly but obviously people don't know that the arts are only part of the creative industry. Thats why they usually mention 'creative arts' because there's other dimensions or spheres to the creative industry than just creative or performing arts (often used interchangeably). Architecture for example, is arguably a part of the creative industry because Architects work with creativity. I'm sure there are other aspects also that one surely at a glance would not deem part of the creative industry but in actual fact do have their niche within the industry." 

Well, the sentiments are expressed without doubt, 'spot on' because this industry is about creatives being able to bring abstract dreams to life through words, materials or performance etc. It is a very broad sector that entails amongst others, the following;
  • Music and visual arts
  • Architecture 
  • Film
  • Photography
  • Theatre
  • Advertising and Marketing


Ladies and Gentlemen, we are talking about an industry much capable of diversifying the economy. Stay tuned for my next post as I unpack the role of  Botswana's creative industry in economic diversification.
You surely don't wanna miss it!🔥❤
#StayTuned
#BWCreatives💯🇧🇼❤

THE GROWTH OF BOTSWANA'S CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Hello loves ☺️ It's been a minute, welcome back! Today we pivot our discussions around the growth of Botswana's creative industry....