May 16, 2006
By Thabang Mokoka
JOBURG'S arts mecca, Newtown, will host the city's Africa Day celebrations on Saturday, 27 May. And this year the Celebrate Africa Festival marks the first event in the annual Arts Alive calendar.
Arts Alive is one of the City of Johannesburg's major cultural events; this year it has decided to host a number of celebrations throughout the year, building up to the 15th annual Arts Alive International Festival in September.
Celebrate Africa Festival will feature world-class African artists, including Meissa from Senegal; Amadou and Mariam from Mali; The Shrine from Britain; and Mapumba from Democratic Republic of Congo.
Following the success of last year's Celebrate Africa Day, there will be a variety of activities, ranging from photographic exhibitions to workshops and music.
Although Africa Day is on 25 May, Saturday, 27 May has been set aside for the festivities. Africa Day marks the establishment of the Organisation for African Unity, which was founded in Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, on 25 May 1963. It aims to promote unity and solidarity between African countries.
Crafts, antiques, collectables, food and fashion will be on sale at more than 120 stalls at Newtown’s Mary Fitzgerald Square on On 27 May
On the day crafts, antiques, collectables, food and fashion will be on sale at more than 120 stalls at Newtown's Mary Fitzgerald Square. Some of the district's top venues will host festivities late into the night, such as the Bassline and the Horror Café, with free concerts at Nicky's Oasis and Shivava's Café.
On at the Bassline are Mali musicians Amadou and Mariam, as well as Mapumba from Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa's Hip-Hop Pantsula. The concert starts at 8.30pm and tickets are R150, from Computicket.
Amadou and Mariam met 25 years ago at the Institute for the Young Blind in Mali and have been partners in life and on stage ever since. They have performed in hundreds of concerts and have toured extensively in France and the United States, releasing three albums, since 1998.
Mapumba is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and TV presenter. His music has been described as having a "new age world sound", and his skills include playing a mouth organ while strumming a guitar and playing the piano. He also uses Afro-Latino percussion instruments, including drums and marimbas and tables from India.
South African hip-hop will make its presence felt through the ever-growing list of MCs, lyricists and beatmakers, as well as courtesy of "seTswana lyricists" Hip-Hop Pantsula.
The Horror Café will present Nicky B and the Afrobeat collective, The Shrine, from midnight. The British group will invite musicians, rappers, dancers and visual artists to jam over the foundation of Max's loops and beats. Max Reinhardt is the globe-trotting founder DJ of the internationally renowned collective.
The Shrine Synchro System has toured internationally from Moscow to Caracas, often for the British Council. Tickets are R60 at Computicket.
Senegalese singer Meissa, will perform for free at Shivava Café from 7.30pm. Six years after the album Night in Casamance, Meissa recently released another ambitious new album, Entre Seine et Sine, A Tribute to Leopold Sédar Senghor. It is a musical adaptation of 10 poems dedicated to the president.
Also giving a free concert, over at Nicky's Oasis, is South Africa's Andile Yenana, from 8.30pm. Yenana's debut solo, We Used to Dance, features Feya Faku, Sydney Mnisi, Kevin Gibson and Herbie Tsoaeli.
The Celebrate Africa Festival is presented by the Joburg Arts Alive International Festival, the Johannesburg Development Agency, the French Institute of South Africa, Nemisa, AS Entertainment and Kaya FM. Tickets are available at Computicket on 083 915 8000, at Computicket outlets, or online at the Computicket website.
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