Bwalia Nkumbula is the founder of Zed Arts, a company that promotes underground Zambian music and arts. She is also an upcoming arts promoter and runs a website that consists of fresh Zambian music. Bwalia is a T.V host for a show called Vintu and a music and arts blogger. She is also third year public administration student at the University of Lusaka. Bwalia believes that the young can influence social change through composing different and unique music.
1. What does your work as a Tv host, music and arts blogger involve?
Well it involves keeping my ears on the ground. I have to know what’s new, what is latest and spending lots of time on my phone and my laptop.
2. How do you manage to balance between your career in the media and arts industry as a full time student on the other hand? It gets easier over time. I schedule my time very well accounting for all my activities that is having to study, attend classes, meetings and studio sessions. I also utilize my phone a lot which makes working easier and doable. In addition, I have a support system of people that help me out hence lightening the workload and making balancing time better and easier.
3. When did you start Zed Arts and what inspired you to do so?
Zed arts was officially launched in April, 2017. I founded Zed Arts because two main things. Firstly, my love for music and art. Secondly, the number of struggling incredibly talented artists in my country is what mainly inspired me to start Zed Arts.
4. What do hope to achieve through Zed Arts in the next five years?
We hope to have Zed Arts as a full running company that will have a record label, musical consultancy, film as well as photography. We also hope to host annual awards shows as well as art exhibitions.
5. What lessons have you learnt in your career journey so far? Running a business requires love, patience, passion and consistency. It’s okay to not get the results you want to get there and then and also that your success is not and should not be like someone else’s… enjoy the process allow yourself to grow. Just like raising a child, you need to enjoy each stage and learn from mistakes you make and make better choices as a company and as an individual.
AUTHOR:
Thando Chilufya is an entrepreneur, creative and educationist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Zambia. Thando is the founder of Ulimusuma Limited and co-founder and creative director of creative Space Digital. She is very passionate about Africa, personal development and entrepreneurship. Thando is a firm believer in the potential that people carry. She is always looking for ways to become better as s person and uses her experiences and knowledge to empower the people around her.
