TOP actress Jesesi Mungoshi and veteran poet Albert Nyathi's projects are among the 41 schemes set to benefit from grants worth over a total of $1 million disbursed by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust to enhance holistic arts development in the country.

The programme, which is dubbed Culture Impacts, will only benefit 41 individual artistes and groups who had more viable projects out of the 500 applications forwarded to the Culture Fund.

In a statement released late last week, Culture Fund said the money was meant to promote local culture through art and act as a tool for development.

"The Fund facilitates the advancement of a sustainable and vibrant Culture in Zimbabwe that contributes to broad participation by Zimbabweans in their cultural life and development of their country," reads part of the statement.

"This programme will foster social cohesion, peace and poverty reduction among Zimbabwean communities."

It will also help in boosting dialogue in the country through art and free expression that the arts sector enjoy in line with their vision of "engaging the transformative power of Arts and Culture" to promote development.

The programme is also meant to strengthen the broad participation of stakeholders on platforms that foster free expression, advance gender equality and promote cultural and socio-economic rights within communities.

The Trust partnered with the Swedish government through (Sida), Danish International Development Agency (D) and the European Union (EU) Delegation in Harare.
Other beneficiaries included the Magamba Network, Chipawo Trust, Iyasa and Sapes Trust.