Bringing Namibian artists to your living room

The 2019 Namibian Annual Music Awards' Artist of the Year, Lize Ehlers, The Lof, the Ell’s, Sean K and even Big Ben, to only mention a few, are some of the locally acclaimed Namibian artists who have been given the opportunity to showcase their skills online.
The Goethe-Institut Namibia, in collaboration with Bank Windhoek, utilised social media and the internet to host online streaming performances featuring acclaimed Namibian musicians on Facebook every Friday.
‘At Home with Goethe’ is an initiative that aims to entertain the public during the Covid-19 lockdown and provides Namibian artists from various disciplines with the opportunity to maintain a relationship with an audience.
Performances will be streamed live on the Goethe-Institut Namibia’s Facebook page.
Live streams started earlier in April with more streams scheduled for Friday 1 May featuring Lize Ehlers and The Lof and Friday 8 May featuring the Ell’s and Sean K, with each show including an interactive question and answer session.
“Remote office was applied fast and our team had the space and time to think about how we are to have our operations and projects adapt to the current social situation in Namibia. They say two heads are better than one and so this idea was developed in a meeting on how we are to adapt our projects to the national lockdown, which has forced creatives in Namibia and around the world to rethink how they are to continue their practices and survive a tough time,” said Lendl Izaaks, who runs the press and communication department at the Goethe-Institut Namibia.
Izaaks further said everything has gone online because of social distancing and it only made sense to provide artists in Namibia with the opportunity to showcase their talents online.
“As the cultural institute of Germany that encourages cultural exchange, we are open to collaborations with local partners and welcome concerted efforts towards the arts and cultural development in Namibia,” he said.
“Through investing in arts and culture, the business community contributes towards not only to showcasing Namibian talent but the financial well-being of our artists as well. This is not the first time we have collaborated and we are definitely open to partnering with Goethe-Institut Namibia on future projects to promote arts and culture in Namibia,” said Bronwyn Moody, the head of corporate social investments (CSI), sponsorship and events of Bank Windhoek.
“Bank Windhoek and the Goethe-Institut Namibia share one common goal: to develop the arts and culture in our country. As a responsible corporate citizen, Bank Windhoek is proud to be associated with the ‘At Home with Goethe’ initiative, because during these unprecedented times, arts can bring us together since it is a vehicle of social change. Despite Covid-19, thanks to the internet, we can still connect online. We encourage everyone who can access Facebook to tune in,” said Moody.
Within these times, it is easy to get lost in the negativity, but this initiative is an opportunity to create something positive and uplifting.
“Negativity should be felt, experienced and thereafter viewed as inspiration to keep yourself afloat instead of being suppressed and creating a time-bomb. Acknowledging common interests and working together towards the well-being and development of Namibia should be at the forefront for all and at all times, not only at a time like this,” Izaaks added.
“Companies, organisations and all members of the nation are encouraged to take up their social responsibility and do their part in supporting each other, particularly cultural practitioners who are normally pushed to the side during an unprecedented situation such as this. The importance of arts and culture are too often undervalued and thereby, the value of practitioners is underestimated,” Izaaks said.
“The music you listen to, the concerts you attend, the films you watch and the interior decoration in your home require a skill, effort and commitment to produce, and this is done by a human being wanting to communicate something about themselves or society. Let us not allow the homogenisation of arts and culture in Namibia, and instead unite in developing tangible and intangible artifacts that we identify with and are proud to claim ownership of," Izaaks concluded.