Zim: 2021 National Arts Merit Awards postponed

The awards will now be held on 27 March as ‘NAMA Legends at 40 Awards’, which are designed to honour artists who have played a pivotal role in the country‘s creative scene in the past four decades.

NACZ director Nicholas Moyo said the postponement was made in line with the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. He added that the event would honour 40 living legends.

“The NAMA process includes various planning and implementations stages that were disrupted by the implementation of the lockdown ... It has become necessary to push back the date to allow for the smooth running of the awards,” he said.

“The NACZ is now working with various service providers to make sure that the event is available to all Zimbabweans across multiple viewing channels.”

He added: “The process of receiving nominations has been closed. The jury is now in the process of reviewing the entries after which they will submit their list of nominees for consideration by the board.”

The event will run under the theme, Our Legacy, Our Pride and follows the postponement of the competitive 20th NAMAs due to the pandemic in 2020.

Unlike the traditional NAMAs, recipients of the Legends at 40 Awards will be selected by a jury representing various arts associations in Zimbabwe.