Listen & create
Protected time, trusted adults and meaningful briefs help students explore the questions they care about.
LOMAGUNDI COLLEGE presents
The Matters That Count Arts Festival
What we
needed
to say.
A generation finds its voice through art.
A community learns how to listen.
A schools arts festival connecting creative expression, meaningful conversations and youth mental wealth.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE · FIRST TERM 2027
STUDENT VOICECREATIVE POSSIBILITY
Many voices.What matters,
made visible.
made visible.
Visual art✦Music✦Theatre✦Dance✦Fashion✦Film✦Spoken word✦Creative writing✦
The learner behind the results
Some things are easier
to show than to say.
Behind the marks, the matches and the carefully composed smile is a young person navigating a complicated world.
Pressure. Friendship. Belonging. Life online. The future. The Matters That Count invites students to explore those realities through art, with trusted adults and clear creative boundaries.
Then it invites schools, families and partners to listen—and turn what they understand into practical support and action.
Why this festival existsThe inaugural edition
Three days of art.
A longer story of change.
Preparation begins in schools. The festival brings the work into public view. Its meaning continues in what people do next.
30
Schools to bring together
The target founding cohort, joined by a national digital Open Studio route.
3
Days in Harare
Planned for the First Term 2027 mid-term break. Exact dates will be announced.
1
Shared invitation
Listen to young people. Make room for their creativity. Help their ideas travel further.
Step inside the festival
Work that moves you.
Moments that stay.
01 / Exhibition & live artsA gallery. A stage.
A gallery. A stage.
A generation with
something to say.
Ideas in motion
Fashion & wearable art
Fashion and wearable art give identity, belonging and self-expression a visible form.
What continues through usRemembrance & legacy
Shared remembrance, a Memory Gallery and creative tributes explore the qualities we choose to carry forward.
From a creative moment to a possible futureCreative Futures Exchange
Mentors, portfolio conversations and verified education and industry pathways connect creativity with future opportunity.
A rhythm a school can keep45–60minutes
At least once
every three weeks.
The Mental Health Hour
Make space.
Without losing the rhythm.
The conversation needs a home in the school timetable.
One protected session brings listening, creative preparation and reflection together. It can sit within Life Skills or another agreed school period, with teacher guidance and clear boundaries.
Schools agree the wider rehearsal and training commitment before joining. Young people never have to disclose a private story to take part.
See how the school rhythm worksHow creativity becomes a continuing practice
Make it. Share it.
Carry it forward.
Share & understand
Curated art and performance invite families, educators and the wider community to see, hear and respond.
Act & continue
School commitments, daily practices and clearer support routes give the conversation somewhere to go.
Our aim: stronger voice, connection, help-seeking and sustainable learning. Schools will be invited to reflect on what changed and what should continue.
Presenting Anchor School & founding institutional host
Lomagundi College
Helping bring schools, creative practice and student voice into one shared undertaking. Originated by Pamumvuri PVO and Festival Architect Tapiwa Chinyadza.
Meet the people shaping the festivalFind your place
Different contributions.
A shared purpose.
Bring a school. Enable an experience. Share a skill. Begin with the route that fits you.
01 / Schools & familiesGive student voice
Make something
Bring the skill
Give student voice
a place to grow.
Explore the school journey, timetable fit, creative opportunity and safeguards.
Explore school participation 02 / Sponsors & fundersMake something
meaningful possible.
Fund a defined part of the programme with clear scope, recognition and reporting.
Explore sponsorship 03 / Partners & contributorsBring the skill
that moves it forward.
Arts, wellbeing, research, careers, media, logistics and community support all have a role.
Find your contributionThe next chapter starts with interest
A place for your voice. A role for your contribution.
Join the waitlist for school participation, sponsorship, creative contributions or festival updates.
Join the waitlistNo payment. No commitment. A conversation comes next.