The Arts as a tool for Democratic Development

According to Mr Mcdonald  Lewanika "Art is the ability to explain abstract terms to the viewer or listener nomatter what kind of art being used",he was quoted saying this at the Freedom's next steps:Perfoming Democracy Workshop that was held by Savanna Trust at the media centre on the 29th of June.

Mr McDonald Lewanika who is a self educated activist and also secretary for education and research at ZINASU was a guest speaker at the workshop.The workshop was aimed at discussing how art can be a tool for Democratic development.He said that art and Democracy have a direct relationship and that as a mater of fact people learn more in art and art platforms than in books.He said that the source of information for young people is art and that can be seen in New York with the New York Times having a problem in their sales of copy and they are saying that the big reason is that the youth are not having any intrest in the news and they are not buying the paper.

He said that people especially the young are afraid to engage into politics because they think that its a dirty game,its very serious and its dangerous and the role that can be played by arts is to make politics intresting and to engage those who are reluctant to politics.Perpetuating  Democratisation can also be done in a fun way like with using art.

He said that considering the political discord in the country,art cannot fully affiliate in politics because it has regretable concequences and there were even seen in the banning of plays in Bulawayo because of their content and also songs being banned on national radio and even on perfoming because of their content.Knowing the concequences on defying the "law" artists do not have to stop making the society a better place.

He further battresed his point saying that there is very few that can be done about reality so imaginery reality can be used to make the people know how reality can be like,meaning that the people in Zimbabwe have never experienced freedom and art has to show then what freedom is inorder for them to want it or to want to fight for it.Hesaid that artsits are the modern day philosophers and the are flag bearers for culture,beliefs and assumptions.Looking at countries like Tunisia a rrevolution was drive and inspired by a song called a letter to the president and this further prooves the influence of arts in advocating for democracy development.

In his conclusion he said that indeed art and democracy have a direct relationship.