The co-founder of Evolve Studios, Odirile Mothoyomotona has called on local artists to start thinking of ways they could use to make money from their talents.

He said this during a panel discussion dubbed, ‘Botswana Creative Arts Council - Necessity and Relevance’ hosted in Gaborone on Friday. Mothoyomotona further pointed out that it was time to question why local artists do not monetise their art and what stops them from making money through selling their work online like what international artists are doing.

“The sad thing about the entertainment industry in Botswana is that many artists do not get booked for shows. The truth is, you do not necessarily have to release a good song to be booked. You have to know the right people. There is need for bargaining council for local artists, be it poets, singers and so on. International artists sell their music online and are making millions through that,” he said.

He also said many international artists, for instance, South African artists do not depend on shows to make money but rather source it through selling their music through different music online shops. He added that it was time for local artists to elevate to the same level as international artists.

Mothoyomotona explained that the reason why art is not taken serious to a point where parents even discourage their children from making art a fulltime profession was because artists were not making enough money to sustain themselves.

Furthermore, he said they would like to establish an art council that is privately led that would lobby and advocate for the interests of local artists. Even though he acknowledged existing music organisations said they were not doing enough for the artists.

Panelists also pointed out that it was important for artists’ mental health to be taken care of because artists faced challenges on a daily basis. They said in most cases, people ignore mental health and therefore end up with mental breakdown. They said posting and keeping fans up to date with their day to day lifestyle and projects was stressful therefore the need for them to take care of their mental health.

The event had an intimate set up with a beautiful poem titled, ‘When’ by Thamia Maleme that encouraged listeners to keep on pushing for whatever they want in life despite the trials and tribulation life throws at them.

A young and very talented hip-hop artist named Pharoah kept the audience captivated with his beautiful songs together with a shy but immensely talented singer WaWa Homeless.