ORGANISERS of the Dreamstar talent show will this year establish the Dreamstar Zimbabwe Artistic Foundation in a bid to cushion emerging creatives from poverty as well as influence their growth in the sector.
Dreamstar Zimbabwe, a product of collaborative efforts between China and Zimbabwe, held its first edition in 2015 and is co-organized by China Zimbabwe Exchange Centre (CZEC) and Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation (JCMC).
Speaking at a presser to announce the return of the talent scouting show after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday, Dreamstar founder Steve Ke Zhao said the foundation was their effort to help upcoming artistes.
“So we will be putting together a fund such that we can assist them especially at their time of need,” said Zhao.
“We believe in the potential of our arts and creative sector and would love to see it grow so we will engage local and international funders in order to help in achieving that growth.”
The Dreamstar Zimbabwe Artistic Foundation comes at a time local artistes have perpetually bemoaned the lack of support from relevant stakeholders to enhance their work and could address issues of sustainability for talent show participants.
The relaunch of Dreamstar talent show, which marks its 8th edition, will see it coming back as a televised version that will have 13 episodes to be aired on a local television station.
“This year’s edition of Dreamstar will be a television production that will have 13 episodes broken down to preliminary auditions, semi-finals, and finals. Contestants will be derived from a pool of raw and up-and-coming artistes from across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces,” JCMC managing director Napoleon Nyanhi told journalists.
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“The selected contestants will be auditioned at Zimbabwe College of Music from July 24 to July 27. The semi-finals will be conducted on July 28 and 29. All audition stages, except finals, will not have a live audience.”
This year’s top prizes include a tour to China, recording deals with JCMC Studios, and a cash prize of US$3 000 for the ultimate winner, US$1 500 and US$500 for second and third-place winners, respectively.
