This first issue of the Creatives magazine is focusing on legendary women who are working tirelessly every day to ensure that their efforts in as far as the arts industry is concerned are greatly appreciated and respected by the society. It is only fitting that the inaugural issue of this new magazine features the female artist, her epic struggle for recognition in a domain largely populated and dominated by males. Of course, later issues will carry the stories of female and male artists alike.
There are certain misconceptions and myths surrounding women who partake in the creative world related projects, there are those who often frown upon women as members of the weaker sex incapable of excelling in the creative industry, an area that is perceived as male dominated thereby construed wrongly in a way that demeans females in the arts and entertainment sector.
The theme for this issue of the Creatives magazine is “Celebrating Female Creatives”, with a particular focus on women who are involved in different art forms from the Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe. These ladies have surely set a good tone and continue to leave a good mark especially for aspiring female artists. They are indeed good sources of inspiration as they thrive to make sure that they break certain societal barriers that are there to make their lives uncomfortable, miserable so to say, in the creative world. The ladies are surely the agents of social change who despite all the circumstances and hindrances they face, they keep on keeping on as they are optimistic that through their art the messages they send to people are purposive in several ways hence their existence has to be surely embraced with both hands.
Gender equality in the creative industry to ensure that women are well represented and can express themselves freely and fairly without any prejudice or stereotypical attributes is one of the urgent areas that deserve enough attention. Women just like their male counterparts are gifted with talents that can make them flourish in the arts industry even better than males. However, this is only possible if they are viewed positively without any misnomers as they also deserve to be treated fairly and equally like men and this is not only applicable to the creative sector but to all spheres of life as well.
The Matabeleland South province is one of the regions in Zimbabwe where there is so much talent exhibited by the creatives in the various art forms such as music, dance, comedy, drama, fine arts, modelling among other genres. Sadly, ladies are underrepresented as evidenced by their low turnup in the creative world where males outnumber them due to the factors that have been mentioned above.
During the interviews some women indicated that they did not receive enough support for their art like the men in the same industry and this inequality dampens their efforts
The Creatives magazine aims at promoting visibility for artists through publicity and marketing, this should ensure growth of the arts industry in the province and beyond. In this issue female creatives are highly honoured and profiled in such a way that will change attitudes by many within and beyond Matabeleland South on how females in the creative industry are perceived. Despite all the challenges faced by women in the creative ,the Creatives magazine honours some of the few female creatives from Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe.
