The new regulations and the National Arts Council Bill will change the landscape of the creatives in the country.

The bill, currently in draft, covers decentralisation, governance, royalties for artists, and monetisation of digital content. 

Speaking at the Government Information Centre, the Chairperson of the National Art Council of Namibia, Cisle Jacobs, said financial resources work better when there are efficient structures.

This year the council held regional consultations on the bill, and continuous engagement is scheduled for next week, which will entail panel discussions.

The bill will have a long-term effect on the sector; therefore, the council is doing due diligence. 

"So as I'm saying, it's quite an old law. And so the first reason we looked at finding funding, and obviously also moving to the Minister to lobby for this law to be changed, was legal cohesion, right? And so compliance, not just with the internal structures of the law itself but its legal status. This was one of the issues that we were facing. So as much as the council had been an operational body, it was kind of in this weird legal grey area, right, whether or not we are doing the functions and the mandate of it."

Twenty years since the enactment of the law, the council is reviewing the Act to keep up with the emerging technologies and be inclusive.

The council's mandate is to promote and develop arts and culture by funding, offering art bursaries, and promoting art.

"It was set up for this purpose, and so we cannot speak about arts and culture without acknowledging the social, economic, and value that it has. And so for everybody, and particularly now that it is an election year, it is really important that the constituents, all of us, Namibian citizens, talk to our representatives politically to address this issue, because it is something that has economic, social, and cultural value for us. It is our heritage, it's our national identity, and so it is a public good."

Jacobs further emphasised the importance of decentralisation of the art fund to ensure that all the creatives and cultures across the country benefit maximally.