Napoleon Nyanhi is shaping Zimbabwe’s cultural transformation
Napoleon Nyanhi, the energetic Director of Zimbabwe's National Arts Council, is shaking up the country's creative scene.
With 20 years in the arts, Nyanhi’s journey—from his early days to leading one of Zimbabwe’s top cultural bodies—has been driven by passion and persistence.
He was appointed this year, and he has been focusing on turning the nation's creative sector into a formal, profitable industry that contributes to the economy.
Nyanhi’s career includes leading roles such as Producer of the NAMA Awards, Managing Director of Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation, and Founding Manager of Capitalk FM.
His impressive resume also includes positions like Programming Manager at Star FM, Production Manager at C Media Africa, and Curator at the Centre for Broadcasting Excellence.
Nyanhi’s education is equally notable. He holds degrees and certifications from Africa University, Clark Atlanta University, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), University of Westminster, and recently earned a Master’s in Strategic Management and Corporate Governance from Midlands State University.
A lifelong learner and leader, Nyanhi understands the power of the arts to inspire, educate, and bring people together.
In an exclusive interview with GQ, he reflected on his journey and discussed his vision for growing Zimbabwe’s cultural and creative industries.
GQ: You’ve been an arts practitioner for over 20 years. Can you tell us how your journey in the creative and cultural industries began and what inspired your passion for the arts?
Napoleon Nyanhi (NN): There is this myth of left-brain vs right brain where human beings are believed to either be scientific or artistic in their thinking. I would like to believe that I am a right brainer with left brain ambitions.
I am a creative by nature and I have always had appreciation of art since I was very young. Since 2004 I have dabbled in multiple arts disciplines including acting, vocals, musical instruments, event hosting, TV producing, radio presenting, scriptwriting, dance, and arts administration.
My professional career took off in 2006 when I joined Gary Thompson and associates as a student on attachment.
I worked on Television production sets as a production assistant and ended up being useful in doing voice overs for the TV shows and other commercial productions.
When I eventually joined Celebration Ministries’ TV Department in 2007, I did a diverse array of tasks that include cinematography, scriptwriting, directing, producing and eventually became a TV Presenter.
GQ: As the Executive Director of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), what is your mission, and how do you plan to achieve it?
NN: My passion project is to push the organizational vision and mission which is to empower communities by providing an enabling environment for the creative industries, supporting and safeguarding Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage.
As an organization we have hit the ground running to ensure that the environment is conducive for local creatives to grow and make an impact in Zimbabwe and on the international arena.
We are so privileged to be working at a time when our visionary leader, His Excellency Dr E.D Mnangagwa has assumed the SADC Chairmanship. We run under the same vision of establishing and naturing regional partnerships that translates to shared opportunities for African Creatives.
Though the President said it in jest that as Zimbabweans we are all SADC “Chairs”, as artists we love that kind of creative talk and we are taking it seriously. It is time for Zimbabwe to lead by example and unite the region.
To that end we have already signed an MoU with National ARTS Council of South Africa, and we are looking and having similar relationships with other regional counterparts so that we unlock more opportunities for our creatives.
Locally we are also cognizant of the devolution as we work towards vision 2030. We seek to empower our provinces and so far, we have done capacity building workshops for artists across Zimbabwe at provincial level.
GQ: You’ve spoken about the need for the creative sector to contribute to Zimbabwe’s GDP. How do you envision achieving this goal, and what are the biggest challenges in the way?
NN: The creative sector is already a contributor of our national GDP. Our vision is to see the figure increasing and we are making strides by posting opportunities on our website for artists to explore.
On the other hand, equipping the upcoming on how they can make their craft good enough for export. We are also advocating for partnerships with professional trainers that share information with artists on how they can adopt new distribution channels and adapt to the evolution of technology.
Our other challenge is documentation. It seems there is a deliberate resistance to formalization because our creatives will not honestly share how much they realize on their local and international engagements and therefore the sector’s contribution to the national GDP is always undervalued.
GQ: You’ve been an advocate for professionalizing the creative industry. How do you encourage young artists to treat their craft as a business and contribute to a thriving creative economy?
NN: Artistic ventures should be treated as business entities. Young artists should learn to keep records of their income and have detailed plans of what they seek to achieve and invest in those plans.
It is very feasible for creatives to pay tax, insurance, legal fees and actually diversify by investing in other business that are not art related, but it all boils down to planning.
I believe is the definition that says “Success is the achievement of pre-planned outcomes” so creatives should always have detailed plans for every operating period.
GQ: What are some of the biggest opportunities for growth in Zimbabwe’s creative industry that you believe the country is yet to fully explore?
NN: We have so many art disciplines that have a huge potential for growth. An example is the recently held 17th edition of FNB Joburg Art Fair that saw Zimbabwean visual artists demonstrating their creative prowess by exhibiting top notch and high-quality pieces that stole the hearts of many.
First Floor Gallery were among the exhibitors, and they gave a scintillating representation of what Zimbabwe has to offer.
The visual arts are a huge potential cash cow for the local creatives and so is Television, Film and theatre. I strongly believe that when we launch the film strategy in a few weeks, it will unlock value and the sector will display a rising trajectory.
GQ: What legacy do you hope to leave through your work with NACZ and your contributions to Zimbabwe’s creative and cultural industries?
NN: My hope is very simple. I would like to see Zimbabwe’s vision achieved through sustained growth and investment in the arts.
The President has made it clear that we want to see an upper middle-income society by 2030 and we have very limited time to make this happen for the creatives.
I want to be remembered for bringing that economic transformation needed to improve the quality of life of Zimbabwean artists.
I also perceive an artistic environment where Zimbabweans claim space in the global arena. Putting out more music on global chats, Creating a Zimbabwean Film Identity like what the likes of South Africa and Nigeria have done.
Our sector is capable and if we put our minds and efforts together, we can achieve it.
Written By Takudzwa Nyambi