5.5.5MentalHealth

Mentalhealthreferstoaperson’soverallpsychologicalwell-being,whichincludestheiremotional, andsocialfunctioning.Goodmentalhealthinvolvestheabilitytocopewiththenormalstressesof life.Maintainhealthyrelationshipsandevenmakemeaningfulcontributionstothesociety.

Like in any other part of the world, artists in Tanzania are prone to encounter mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorders and addiction to drugs and alcohol, this is mainly due to the nature of the creative industry which is sometimes referred to as the ‘happinessindustry’andpoorlifestylechoices.Thenumberofartistswithmentalhealthproblems in Tanzania is highly shocking. The following are some causes of mental health problems to artists:

Economicinstability. The art sector is expensive in its nature. Artists often work in industries that are unstable, with unpredictable income, irregular work hours, and limited access to benefits such as health insurance. Economic instability often times lead to financial insecurity, debtsanddifficultypayingforbasicnecessitiessuchashousing,food,andhealthcare Economic instability can also lead to a lack of recognition or support for their work, which can further generate feelings of anxiety, depression, or hopelessness, making it challenging for artists to pursue their creative passions, leading to feelings of frustration, low self-esteem, or loss of motivation. The Coronavirus pandemic for instance paved way to the increase of mentally unstable artists. The lockdown and restrictions such as no performances or gatherings made it difficultforartiststoaccessincomeleadingtofrustrationanddepression.

Societal pressure/ peer pressure. The art sector is clouded with the pressure of using different kind of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, also known as marijuana and many other types Artists carry a lot of emotional baggage resulting from the pressure to align with the societal expectations of them. The society expects artists to entertain, teach, look elegant, lead anexpensivelifeandatthesametimemaintainahealthymentalspace.Inthequesttoalignto such expectations, artists tend to stretch beyond their limits or at times tend to bite more than they can chew leading to debts, which lead to frustrations that trigger addictions such as alcoholordrugstonumbtheirfrustrations.

In Tanzania, mental health problems to artists is a real problem, we have cases like that of a renowned musician called Vanessa Mdee, where in one of her podcasts she mentioned that the reason she decided to quit music was because of the societal pressure. She had anxiety issues whichlaterforcedherintoalcoholaddiction.WealsoseecaseslikethatofRashidAbdallahalias ChidiBenz,Joslinandmanyotherartists.

6.0 CHALLENGES

6.1 FormalArtEducation

Absenceofartschools/institutions: The number of schools or institutions that provide arts education is almost non-existent. This leads to an increase in artists who lack the basic artisticskillsandetiquettesorwhoareself-taught.

Absenceofartteachers:Thelackofteachertrainingcollegesdisruptsthesupplychainof art teachers. Furthermore, there has been a steady brain drain of the available art teachers who prefer to sell their skills abroad due to poor working conditions in the country. This is becauseartteachersarenotrespectedorevenappreciatedinthecountrymakingitatough sectorforonetoresortto

Lackofharmonisationofpolicies,lawsandregulationsgoverningartseducation. Artseducation is closely linked to culture, however, the current National Culturale Policy 1996andTanzaniaeducationpolicy arenotaligned Thishighlyaffectstheprovisionofarts education.

Artseducationisexpensive: Due to high demand and lack of art schools or institutions, artseducationisnotaffordabletomostofthestrugglingyoungartists

ArtseducationinTanzaniaissettoprovideartmanagersandnotpractitioners

6.2 Non-formalArtEducation

Nocertificationfortheirprogrammes: While NGOs carry out non-formal art education, it is not accredited to any formal education system. This means that for sectors that require formaltraining,theartistsarelockedoutoftheformalemploymentsystem

Donordependency:Non-formalarteducationprogrammesrunbyNGOsthatrelyondonor fundingcanbeaffectedbychangeindonorpriorities