Harare — OVER a period of six years, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe's National Arts Merit Awards have given public recognition of the arts industry and individual artists to the nation.

NAMA today is a familiar acronym, an event looked forward to by Zimbabwe's arts community and Zimbabweans at large and an event which has an established a place in the "world of awards" given to artists.

Awards such as Nama the world over have become the standard recognition for the merit and calibre of individual artistes' work, and are an enduring memorial to artists who inevitably move on.

The Nama ceremony is beamed by satellite the world over, the awards have changed the lives and fortunes of many artists, provided them with opportunities for regional and international exposure, including artists unknown and remote from the mainstream "flushed out by judges and monitors".

Backed by an increased stakeholding from the international community in Zimbabwe, the corporate sector and the Government, the Nama have created a new meritocracy for Zimbabwe, the artists of iconic standing, those artists who have triumphed over local adversities to continue to work, to capture and captivate people with their books, their music, their plays, their paintings and their sculptures.

I am honoured to be commissioned by the NACZ to write a book tracing the history and development of its arts merit awards since their inception.

The book, among other things, will offer objective analysis of the healthy debate and controversy (something which arises out of things which matter to people and are of consequence to their lives) surrounding the ethos, processes and preparations for Nama and how these have adapted to the rapidly changing environment for the arts in Zimbabwe and their developing symbiosis with international directions and developments.

The book will make comparison between the Nama other arts awards given in Zimbabwe and other arts awards in the international arena and look at the implication of Nama for the betterment of the arts in Zimbabwe.

The editor-in-chief of the book will be Titus Chipangura, the director of the NACZ. A man with a very deep grasp of the fundamentals and dynamics of the arts industry in Zimbabwe, a man of insight, foresight and wisdom, I look forward to working with him, and benefiting from the dialogue which we will have.

Chipangura comments: "This book will stamp Nama indelibly on the minds of Zimbabwe's and the international art community for many years to come.

It will make people mindful of the fact that the National Arts Council keeps up with the times, hones in on artists' needs, wants and less tangible aspirations and helps bring them to fruition.

"The awards work in the interests of the artists of Zimbabwe in so many ways. They give them exposure, they make favourable the climate of public opinion for the arts, they foster greater knowledge of artists' work nationwide and, overall, they popularise artists and their work and highlight the service artists have given to the nation."

Such a consultative framework for the book will allow many voices to be heard, many stances to be taken, many views aired, consensus to be reached, recommendations to be made -- all for the good of Nama and its future. I shall be based in my office at the national headquarters of the NACZ in the Examinations Building at the University of Zimbabwe, a situation which will facilitate the consultation which will take place and the research and writing of the book.

Writers, painters, sculptors, installation artists and designers now receive national recognition, which can bring them to greater renown and coveted professional opportunities.

This will be my thirteenth book on Zimbabwean art to be published. It will not simply echo the sentiments of the NACZ although it will discuss how Nama fits with the appreciably adaptable mission and mandate of the council of furthering the development of the arts of Zimbabwe.

It is anticipated the book will take nine months to complete after which it will be launched and marketed in Zimbabwe and outside the country.