Kumakomoyo, Nyanga blessed with mountains, a new cultural movement is taking shape. At the center of it is Bright Barwe, an arts, heritage, and culture enthusiast and promoter who is putting Nyanga/Mutasa grassroots talent on the map through the Yasu/Yathu Arts Festival.‎

‎Who is Bright Barwe?

Bright Barwe is a community-driven promoter with a deep commitment to preserving Zimbabwean traditions while creating space for new voices. For him, culture is not something to lock in a museum. It is something to live, perform, and pass on.

Yasu/Yathu means ‘Yours/Ours,’” Bright explains. “This festival belongs to the people. It’s about us celebrating who we are, from the village stage to the national spotlight.” The festival brings arts, culture, heritage, and tourism together as inseparable.

The Vision Behind the Yasu/Yathu Arts Festival ‎‎

Under Bright’s leadership, the Yasu/Yathu Arts Festival in Nyanga is designed to do three things:

‎- Elevate grassroots talent: Musicians, dancers, poets, visual artists, sculptors, and storytellers from Nyanga, Mutasa, and surrounding areas get a professional platform to showcase their work.

‎- Preserve heritage: The festival features traditional dances such as Jekunje, Nyonganyonga, and Muchongoyo, alongside storytelling sessions, Gota/Nhanga workshops, and a spiritual all-night, (Bira) in the district.

‎- Promote Nyanga as a cultural tourism destination: By linking arts to tourism, Bright wants visitors to experience Nyanga not just for its mountains and trout, but for its living culture.

The program spans multiple venues across Nyanga, including community centers in Nyamhuka and Ruwangwe, the Rhodes Nyanga Museum, and Chief’s homestead, making the festival truly accessible to locals.

Why it matters now?

Children, youth, and elders have talent in music, crafts, and visual arts, but lack opportunities to grow and be seen. This limits their ability to showcase or exhibit their work. Bright saw the gap and built Yasu/Yathu as a bridge. The festival includes business workshops for artists, environmental theatre, and craft exhibitions to help creators turn talent into livelihoods.

‎“We can’t talk about development without culture,” Bright says. “When a young dancer from Nyatate, Hwesa performs and gets paid, when a craftswoman from Weaving sells her work, that’s real impact.”

The Bigger Picture:‎ ‎

Bright Barwe’s work is rooted in the values of Ubuntu and community. He works closely with traditional leaders, schools, and local groups to ensure the festival reflects the people it serves. His goal is for Yasu/Yathu to grow each year into a national calendar event that celebrates Zimbabwe’s diversity while keeping Nyanga’s unique heritage at the core.

In his words: “Our culture will only survive if we give our children a reason to be proud of it. Yasu/Yathu is that reason.”