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🇧🇼