Some notes for non-US citizens on teaching and performing at Zimfest

Zimfest welcomes Zimbabweans and others who are not US citizens to teach and perform at our yearly festivals, but the situation is this:

1. Zimfest does not sponsor visas for non-US citizens—however, a US working visa is required for a non-US citizen to teach or perform at Zimfest. For a US working visa (visa types P, O, Q, and a few others), a US sponsor organization or agent must apply for the visa on behalf of the Zimbabwean—you cannot directly apply for these types of visa yourself.
2. Zimfest does not pay airfare or other international travel expenses for Zimbabwean musicians.
3. Zimfest generally does not pay for performing.
4. Zimfest does pay an hourly amount for teaching workshops in Zimbabwean music, culture, language, etc.
5. Zimfest does cover travel within the US (with some limitations) for Zimbabwean teachers.
6. Zimfest does provide full room and board for Zimbabwean teachers during Prefest (the day before Zimfest when private lessons and privately arranged classes may take place) and the Festival each year.
7. Zimfest does provide an excellent opportunity for musicians and teachers to become known to the North American Zimbabwean music community at large, and thus to be considered for future work together.

It may seem puzzling that we are able to get any Zimbabweans at all to Zimfest under these circumstances. The explanation is that there are Zimbabwean music enthusiasts, organizations, and students of the music who yearly sponsor Zimbabwean musicians they know to come to the US and tour, including a stop at Zimfest. Generally, just coming to Zimfest alone does not pay enough to justify travel from Zimbabwe, visa expenses, etc.

Perhaps someone might suspect that someone here is getting rich off of Zimfest, instead of doing more to sponsor Zimbabwean musicians. The reality is that Zimfest is a nonprofit organization, and we who put on Zimfest are groups of volunteers who donate countless hours to putting on Zimfest each year, for no pay. If we do more than break even at a festival, we return the money to Zimbabwe via charitable organizations working to help with health, education and famine relief in Zimbabwe.

If you are a non-US citizen interested in teaching or performing at Zimfest, I would encourage you to work with a US citizen or organization you know to sponsor you. Your sponsor may want to work with an immigration lawyer as well.

The teacher and performer applications for Zimfest 2010 will soon be available on our Zimfest website - but again, there will be no point in applying if you don't know who will be sponsoring your visa.

I would also be happy to talk with you further about these topics, or anything else you would like to know about Zimfest.

We appreciate your interest!

Marilyn Kolodziejczyk
Zimbabwean Guest Coordinator
Zimfest 2010