By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – The executive secretary of the Khomas Community Culture Center Development (KCCCD), which is a N$41 million community theatre initiative proposed for Windhoek, on Friday said the Trust that is to oversee the project has officially been registered with the Master of the Namibian High Court.
“The official registration number of the Trust is T143/14 that had been initiated two years ago by Committed Artists of Namibia. It can now legally, locally and internationally, operate with four trustees, all members from the local arts industry and the business community,” said KCCCD Executive Secretary, Frederick Philander.
The trustees are Frederick Philander, who is a published playwright, writer and award-winning theatre director, David Ndjavera, an award-winning actor, playwright and theatre director, Kevan Ruari McNamara, an architect, and Lancelot Harry Lyners who is a businessman.
The planned 300-seat modern theatre is to be built in Khomasdal and upon completion is expected to serve the cultural needs of Windhoek and all the regions of the country.
“The regions are all culturally starved and neglected since the dawn of independence on basically all cultural levels,” said Philander.
“This is a mammoth and unique private development initiative by Committed Artists of Namibia (CAN), the longest surviving community theatre group in the country that was established in 1979. It fits in well with the government’s developmental policy under the National Planning Commission that will be approached with all regional councils to support this much needed national effort,” added Philander.
The theatre project, of which the primary object will be to organize, co-ordinate and present national and international theatre productions, is primarily aimed at filling the growing cultural needs and vacuum of a fast growing rural population.
The National Theatre, with many limitations and yearly over stretched with Windhoek-based productions, is currently the only suitably equipped venue for quality theatre productions.
The secondary objectives, aims and purposes of the trust are to offer the public an opportunity to attend and experience contemporary Namibian and African theatre productions of high quality, to assist in creating and distributing theatre development on a national level and expand such efforts to all the 14 regions of the country.
The Trust intends involving all regional councils, local authorities and regional educational departments in their activities to specifically assist with the stimulation of creative and intellectual development and enrichment among the Namibian population.
Furthermore the Trust strives to create homegrown productions of a high standard for export to neighbouring Southern African countries in particular as well as to the rest of Africa, and to link the KCCCD with different art sectors such as music, poetry, visual arts, traditional dancing, opera and ballet, film and television.
The main functions of the Trust are to secure funding and find local and international partners to build the theatre, to develop initiatives such as workshops and in-depth training programmes for theatre practitioners, visual artists, musicians, poets, writers, art reviewers and arts associations.
The Trust will also initiate and organize national and regional youth theatre competitions.