Arts council members appointed

WINDHOEK – Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Katrina Hanse-Himarwa has announced the appointment of the National Arts Council of Namibia new board members who will serve for a three-year term administering the National Arts Fund, effective from April 1, this year to March 31, 2022. 

The new council is comprised of various public and private representatives who went through an induction last month at the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture offices. 

It includes public nominees and former council members Patrick Sam, a consultant and arts advocate, and Shareen Thude, manager of the Craft Center, who retained their positions of chairperson and vice-chairperson respectively, as well as representatives of the education ministry, such as Sanet Steenkamp, who is the ministry’s executive director and Ervast Mtota, the director of arts. 

Other publicly nominated members are Dalicia Olivier, who is responsible for stakeholders and events and Meatco and Leitago /Narib, an entrepreneur and owner of NAWALife. 

Alternate members are Petsy Neiss from the International University of Management (IUM), Ambrosius Sindano, a school principal from Nkurenkuru, Martha Amutenya, a teacher from Ondangwa, youth representative Felix Haingura, Veno Kauaria, deputy executive director at Life Long Learning, Arts and Culture, as well as M’kariko Amagulu, deputy director in the directorates of arts, both from the education ministry.

According to Thude, who was previously also vice-chairperson, being on the council again will provide the opportunity to build on the strong foundation already built over the past three years.

/Narib stated that his mission on the council is to bring it closer to the artists and to ensure information sharing is improved, as well as come up with sustainable funding methods that will see artists creating their own wealth, as well as for others. 

Equally, Amutenya spoke to the need for the arts to be recognised and valued, and therefore for the council to consider art teacher training, which was echoed by Sindano who stated, “Arts is neglected, the arts council needs to raise the importance of arts in formal school so that youth have an option to improve learned practical skills with more education in future.”

The National Arts Council of Namibia is established through the National Arts Fund Act No 1 of 2005, which makes provision for the establishment of a council to act as an advisory body to the fund. 
As per the Act, the council should be composed of seven main members, but also makes provision for the appointment of alternate members. 

For the main positions two are filled by the representatives of the education ministry, one from the Ministry of Finance, while the rest are through public nomination. 

Over the course of February and March this year, through the use of the local mass and social media to reach interested parties, the council received a total of 32 nominations, which were screened and assessed with regard to key competencies that would be essential to the future development of the National Arts Council of Namibia. 

However, only six could be selected as main members, each with alternate members, however pending nominations of representatives from the Ministry of Finance.

The council’s mandate is to develop local arts through funding and provide support services to Namibian artists and art organisations, on a representative basis, while adhering to the principles of access, equity, quality and democracy.