Co-founder of Zimbabwe’s first Digital Art and Innovation Festival, Comexposed and creator of the nation’s first comic book The Gift/Gundog, Tinodiwa Zambe Makoni, recently sat down with the World International Property Organization (WIPO) to discuss Afrofuturism and intellectual property.
Makoni began his venture into art at a very early age but as he went forth, he soon realised that people like him were not appearing in the stories he was creating. So, he set out to change that.
Going forth, Makoni began creating stories that featured black, African youth his latest comic being a superhero team up story Mhare.
When asked about Afrofuturism during the interview, Makoni expressed that his work is, in some ways, Afrofuturistic. To him Afrofuturistic art (art that shows African in a future they could be) is important as “representation determines our future…just seeing yourself in the future will make you make that future.”
Makoni also had insight to offer on the problem of fledgling creatives who stay in their rooms out of fear of their intellectual property being stolen. Part of intellectual property is being able to “Safeguard what you’ve created and being able to result in remuneration for yourself” ,he said.
Now, Makoni’s desire is to “help the future generations in a positive way that impacts the world” and for “Zimbabwean creativity to be seen world over and be part of the global discourse.”
Check out Tinodiwa Zambe Makoni’s interview with the World Intellectual Property Organization below: