Harare — Elvas Mari has been appointed director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe with effect from November 2, 2009.

In a statement, the NACZ board said Mari has been acting director of the council since Titus Chipangura retired in November last year.

"The board believes that Mr Mari will provide the leadership in the council to develop and promote the arts and culture industries to be a significant contributor to the socio-economic development of Zimbabwe.

"The board congratulates Mr Mari on his appointment and wishes him well in his new position," read the statement.

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe is a regulatory body of all arts activities in Zimbabwe.

Apart from issuing permits to visiting artists, the body is also involved in registering new arts bodies and overseeing their operations.

Mari was born in Bikita in 1964 and holds a Master of Education (Curriculum Studies) and a Bachelor of Arts General Degrees from the University of Zimbabwe.

He is also a holder of several professional certificates, including Certificate in Entrepreneurial skills with Empretec, Certificate in Developing Capacity for Negotiation skills and Conflict Transformation (UNDP) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education.

Mari began his career as a teacher at Mashoko High School in Bikita, Masvingo, in 1988 to 1989 before transferring to work for the then Literature Bureau in 1990 and later to the Curriculum Development Unit as a principal writer.

While at CDU, he was seconded to be a member of the secretariat to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training and thereafter joined the then Chinhoyi Technical Teachers' College as a principal lecturer.

He joined the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in 2002 initially as an assistant director (Arts promotion and development) before being promoted to deputy director in 2003, a post he held until his present appointment.

Mari is a published writer of a Shona textbook secondary school course, Kodzero 1 to 4 and two poetry anthologies, Madirativhange and Muti Usina Zita.

During his previous years at NACZ, he made significant contributions to the development of flagship programmes and projects such as National Arts Merit Awards, Culture Week, Arts Development Fund, Jikinya Dance Festival, Arts Voices, Provincial Festivals and Jerusarema Mbende Intangible Heritage project.

Mari is married to Meria and the couple has four children -- Nyasha, Tapiwa, Vimbiso and Tavonga.