Harare International Festival of the Arts

Arts festival in Zimbabwe

The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is one of Africa's largest[1] international arts festivals. Established in 1999 by Manuel Bagorro the festival takes place each year in late April or early May in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. The week-long festival encompasses five principal disciplines: theatre, music, dance, fine art, and poetry.

## Operating in a difficult environment

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Organizing and facilitating a festival the size of HIFA in the difficult sociopolitical and economic conditions that characterize Zimbabwe today is no easy task. 2008 was a particularly difficult year for the Festival,[2][3] with controversial elections[4] and hyperinflation, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Zimbabwean Dollar, providing an unsettling backdrop.

## Funding

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As a private endeavour, HIFA depends on funding from private sources, including local businesses and multinational corporations. Further supplementary funding comes from donors, and embassy missions represented in Harare. Funding from embassies and missions is largely used to facilitate artists from their respective countries. Other revenue sources include fees collected from ticket sales from the different shows run during HIFA week.

## References

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1. ^ "Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA)". HIFA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
2. ^ "Zimbabwe festival diary". 24 April 2008 - via bbc.co.uk.
3. ^ "Seven days of fantasy in a city of crushing reality". 30 April 2008 - via The Guardian.
4. ^ "Mugabe's Zanu-PF loses majority". 3 April 2008 - via bbc.co.uk.

## External links

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* Official website
* BBC Radio Interview with Manuel Bagorro
* BBC Blog on the 2008 Festival
* 2008 Guardian Article
* KadmusArts Entry Archived 21 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine

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